Skip to main content

Full text of "A history of Lowell"

See other formats 


ill  i, 


i1 


iii'iU 


\%"X 


■*^;  5-.---  r»' 


'^>*»' 


7C.-^^,  fyu}"/^ 


-^,1  ^^ 


ColldQtiOtt 


CHARLES   COWLEY. 


/ . 


HISTORY  OF  LOWELL. 


SECOND  REVISED  EDITION. 


BY     CHARLES     COWLEY 


BOSTON : 
LEE    &    8  H  E  P  A  R  D . 

LOWELL : 
B.  C.  SARGEANT  AND  J.  MERRILL  &  SON. 

1868. 

ID 


0^ 


Entered,  according  to  an  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  181)8,  by  Charles 

Cowley,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  oj'  the  District 

of  Massa<'hiisetts. 


:!^  1  ^  I 


Press  of  Stone  .t  Iluse.  liOwell. 


*    « 

^ 


V^ 


PREFACE. 


In  an  age  so  prolific  in  works  of  local  history  as  onrs,  no 
apology  need  be  ofiered  for  publishing  this  History  of  Lowell. 
Successors  of  the  Pawtucket  and  Wamesit  Indians, — heirs  of  the 
founders  of  American  Manufactures, — contemporaries  of  the  men 
of  the  "Legion  of  Honor,"  who  went  hence  to  defend  the  Na- 
tionality of  America,  and  who,  dying  on  the  field  of  battle,  have 
risen  to  enduring  renown ; — the  people  of  Lowell  are  to-day  in 
possession  of  a  certain  body  of  memories  and  traditions,  not 
current  elsewhere,  but  kept  alive  here  by  local  associations,  by 
the  presence  of  historical  objects,  and  by  the  local  press. 

Of  these  memories  and  traditions  Lowell  is  justly  proud. 
From  them  her  people  receive  an  educational  stimulus  not  to  be 
despised.  She  would  no  more  part  with  these  local  reminis- 
cences than  Plj^mouth  would  part  with  her  Pilgrim  history,  or 
than  New  York  would  forget  those  Knickerbocker  memories, 
among  which  the  genius  of  Irving  is  enshrined  forever. 

To  gather  and  embalm  all  that  seemed  most  valuable  in  this 
heritage  of  memories  and  traditions,  has  been  the  object  of  the 
present  work,  which  covers  the  whole  period  from  the  discovery 
of  the  Merrimack  River  by  De  Monts,  in  1605,  to  the  year  of 
Grace  1868. 

The  first  edition,  or  rather  the  original  germ,  of  this  work, 
was  published  in  1856.  With  the  aid  of  a  mass  of  materials 
laboriously  gathered  during  the  last  twelve  years,  I  may  hope 
that  the  value  of  the  work  has  been  greatly  increased.  The 
narrative  has  been  thoroughly  revised,  and  very  much  enlarged. 

Several  engravers  of  established  reputation  were  employed 
to  execute  illustrative  cuts.     Many  of  these  are  well  done :  but 


some  are  so  badly  executed  that,  perhaps,  an  apology  is  due 
for  their  insertion  in  these  pages  ;  and  others  have  been  rejected 
altogether. 

Materials  were  at  hand  for  a  much  larger  volume,  or  even  for 
several  volumes ;  but  I  have  aimed  to  be  concise, — considering 
Moses,  who,  in  two  lines,  chronicled  the  creation  of  a  world, 
{pace  Colenso,)  a  much  better  model  for  the  local  annalist  than 
he  who  filled  several  volumes  with  the  burning  of  a  Brunswick 
Theatre. 

How  far  I  have  succeeded  in  the  accomplishment  of  this  self- 
imposed  task,  my  readers  must  judge ;  and  they  will  form  the 
most  charitable  judgments,  who  best  appreciate  the  great  diffi- 
culties under  which  such  a  task  must  be  prosecuted.  If  I  have 
not  wholly  failed  of  my  purpose,  the  work  will  possess  attrac- 
tions for  all  who  are  identified  with  Lowell,  and  perchance  may 
descend  to  the  Lowellians  of  the  Future,  and  be  read  with  inter- 
est hereafter,  when  he  who  wrote  it  shall  have  passed  away. 

The  Authou. 

March  4th,  1868. 


HISTORY  OF  LOWELL. 


CHAPTEK    I. 

FROM  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  MERRIMACK  TO  THE  INTRODUCTION 
OF  MANUFACTURES. 

Geologj'  of  the  Merrimack — Discovery  of  the  Merrimack — De  Monts — Cham- 
plain — Concord  River — Indian  Rendezvous  at  Lowell — John  Eliot — Gen. 
Gookin — Billerica —  Chelmsford — Wamesit  Reservation  —  Indians  —  Pasaa- 
conaway — Wannalancet — Indian  War — King  William's  War — Dracut — Pur- 
chase of  Wamesit— Tewksbury— Convention  in  Dracut— Bunker  Hill  Inci- 
dents—Simeon Spaulding — Shay's  Rebellion — Slavery— Pawtucket  Canal — 
Bridge  over  the  Merrimack — Middlesex  Canal — Timber  Trade. 

Herodotus,  with  fine  felicity,  calls  Egypt  a  gift  from  the 
Nile.  In  a  similar  sense,  Lowell  may  he  called  a  gift  from 
the  Merrimack.  Her  history,  also,  may  he  well  hegun  with 
that  noble  artery  of  nature,  the  waters  of  which  move  the 
great  wheels  of  her  industry. 

Long  after  America  was  upheaved  from  the  bosom  of  the 
Atlantic,  a  chain  of  lakes  occupied  the  valleys  of  the  Merri- 
mack and  its  tributaries,  from  the  mountains  to  the  sea. 
Proofs  of  this  appear  in  the  alluvial  formation  of  these  valleys, 
the  shapes  of  their  basins,  their  outlets,  their  different  levels, 
and  the  stratified  character  of  the  soil.  One  of  these  lakes 
extended  westward  from  Pawtucket  Falls ;  and  the  limits  of 
several  others  may  be  easily  defined/-''  But  long  before  the 
dawn  of  history,  and  probably  long  before  man  appeared  on 
the  earth,  the  attrition  of  the  waters  in  the  channels  of  these 
lakes,  by  widening  and  deepening  their  outlets,  gradually 
diminished  their  depth,  and  at  length  left  their  basins  dry. 

*  Potter's  Manchester,  p.  24;  Fox's  Dunstable,  p.  8. 
2 


14r  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

The  draining  of  these  lakes  increased  the  volume  of  water 
which  the  Merrimack  rolled  down  to  the  main. 

The  head  of  the  Merrimack  is  at  Franklin  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, where  the  Winnepesawkee,  the  outlet  of  the  lake  of  that 
name,  unites  with  the  Pemigewasset,  an  artery  of  the  White 
Mountains.  Like  all  the  great  rivers  on  the  Atlantic  slope, 
the  Merrimack  pursues  a  southerly  course.  But  after  follow- 
ing this  course  from  Franklin  to  Tyngsborough,  a  distance  of 
eighty  miles,  the  Merrimack,  unlike  any  other  stream  on  the 
Atlantic,  makes  a  detour  to  the  north-east,  and  even  runs  a 
part  of  the  way  north-west.  It  is  obviously  unnatural  that, 
after  approaching  within  twenty  miles  of  the  head- waters  of 
the  Saugus,  as  the  Merrimack  does  on  entering  Massachusetts, 
it  should  suddenly  change  its  course,  and  pursue  a  circuitous 
route  of  more  than  forty  miles  to  the  sea.  If  the  history  of 
by-gone  ages  could  be  restored,  we  should  probably  find  the 
Merrimack  discharging  its  burden  at  Lynn,  and  not  at  New- 
buryport. 

Changes  like  this,  however,  are  not  unfamiliar  to  geologists. 
Sometimes  they  have  been  caused  by  earthquakes,  but  more 
often,  in  these  latitudes,  hj  ice-gorges.-  Whether  this  deflec- 
tion in  the  course  of  the  Merrimack  was  caused  by  subterra- 
nean convulsions,  or  by  the  formation  in  the  old  channel  of  an 
ice-blockade,  cannot  now  be  known  ;  but  the  fact  of  the  change 
is  unquestionable. 

The  discovery  of  the  Merrimack  took  place  under  the  auspi- 
ces of  Henry  the  Fourth,  commonly  called  Henry  the  Great, 
whose  reign  forms  one  of  the  most  brilliant  eras  in  the  annals 
of  France.  In  1603,  Pierre  Du  Gua,  Sieur  de  Monts,  one  of 
the  ablest  of  the  Huguenot  chiefs,  obtained  a  patent  from  this 
king,  creating  him  Lieutenant-General  and  Vice- Admiral,  and 
vesting  in  him  the  government  of  New  France,  which  em- 


*0n   earthquakes  on  the   Merrimack,   see  Coffin's   Newbury;  on  ice- 
floods,  Hitchcock's  Geology  of  Massachusetts,  Part  III. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL,  15 

braced  all  our  Eastern  and  Middle  States,  together  with  the 
Dominion  of  Canada.  On  the  seventh  of  March,  1604,  De 
Monts  sailed  from  Havre  with  an  expedition  for  colonizing 
•'  Acadia,"  as  his  new  dominions  were  called.  He  arrived  on 
the  sixth  of  April,  and  began  at  once  the  great  work  of  ex- 
ploration and  settlement."'  While  talking  with  the  Indians  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  ensuing  summer, 
he  was  told  by  them  that  there  was  a  beautiful  river  lying  far 
to  the  south,  which  they  called  the  Merrimack. |  The  follow- 
ing winter  De  Monts  spent  with  his  fellow-pioneers  on  the 
island  of  St.  Croix,  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  amid  hardships  as 
severe  as  those  which,  sixteen  years  later,  beset  the  Pilgrims 
at  Plymouth. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  June,  1605,  in  a  bark  of  fifteen  tons, — 
having  with  him  the  Sieur  de  Champlain,  several  other  French 
gentlemen,  twenty  sailors,  and  an  Indian  with  his  squaw, — De 
Monts  sailed  from  the  St.  Croix,  and  standing  to  the  south 
examined  the  coast  as  far  as  Cape  Cod.  In  the  course  of  this 
cruise,  on  the  seventeenth  of  July,  1605,  he  entered  the  bay 
on  which  the  city  of  Newburyport  has  since  arisen,  and  dis- 
covered the  Merrimack  at  its  mouth.  The  Sieur  de  Cham- 
plain,  the  faithful  pilot  of  De  Monts,  and  chronicler  of  his 
voyages,  has  left  a  notice  of  this  discovery  in  a  work  which 
ranks  among  the  most  romantic  in  the  literature  of  the  sea. 
Inclosing  this  notice  Champlain  says:  "Moreover,  there  is 
in  this  bay  a  river  of  considerable  magnitude,  which  we  have 
called  Gua's  Kiver."| 

*  Parkman's  Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  World. 

t  Rdationes  des  Jesuites,  IGOi. 

X  Plus  y  a  en  icelle  hay  une  riviere  qui  est  fort  spaciuese,  laqulle  anons  nom- 
me  la  riviere  du  Gas  [Gua]. —  Voyages  en  la  Nouvelle  France,  ed.  1632,  p.  80 
(Harvard  University  Library).  In  Potter's  Manchester,  and  Chase's  Haverhill, 
Captain  Champlain  himself  is  erroneously  credited  with  the  discovery  of  the 
Merrimack.  The  romantic  career  of  Champlain,  "the  father  of  New  France," 
is  graphically  sketched  by  Dr.  Parkman,  hi  his  Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New 
"World.    His  works  are  soon  to  be  published  by  the  University  of  Lasalle. 


16  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL, 

Thus  De  Monts  named  the  Merrimack  from  himself ;  but 
the  compliment  was  not  accepted.  Eegardless  of  the  name 
with  which  it  was  baptized  by  its  discoverer,  the  Merrimack 
clung,  with  poetic  justice,  to  the  name  which  it  received  from 
the  Indians  long  before  the  flag  of  the  Vice-Admiral  floated 
over  Newburyport  Bay.  The  visit  of  Admiral  De  Monts,  like 
that  of  Capt.  John  Smith  in  1614,  was  attended  with  no  result. 
Other  renowned  names  were  yet  to  be  inscribed  on  the  list  of 
the  visitors  of  the  Merrimack.  But  its  song  was  the  song  of 
Tennyson's  brook  : — 

"For  men  may  come  and  men  may  go, 
But  I  roll  ou  forever." 

The  King  had  stipulated,  in  his  patent  of  New  France,  that 
De  Monts  should  establish  in  Acadia  the  Eoman  Catholic 
creed,  (^^la  foy  catholique,  apostolique  et  romaine  ;^^ )  a  singu- 
lar condition  indeed,  considering  that  De  Monts  was  a  Protest- 
ant, and  that  Henry  himself  was  only  a  "political  Catholic." 
The  expenses  of  the  three  expeditions  which  he  sent  to  New 
France  were  ruinous  to  De  Monts.  Cabals  were  formed  by  his 
enemies ;  neither  the  loftiest  motives  nor  the  finest  abilities 
could  save  him ;  and  the  tragic  death  of  Henry  by  the  dagger 
by  Kavaillac,  in  1610,  completed  his  ruin  as  a  public  man. 
He  died  about  the  year  1620." 

In  1635,  thirty  years  after  the  discovery  of  the  Merrimack, 
the  Concord,  which  the  Indians  called  the  Musketaquid,  as- 
sumed a  place  in  civilized  history;  the  fame  of  its  grassy 
meadows  and  of  the  fish  that  swarmed  in  its  waters  attracting 
settlers  from  England,  who  established  themselves  at  Concord. :j: 

From  a  period  too  remote  to  be  determined  by  either  history 
or  tradition,  until  after  the  great  Indian  Plague  of  1617, 
Pawtucket  Falls  on  the  Merrimack,  and  Wamesit  Falls  on  the 

*  See  Haag's   Vies  des  Protestants  Francais  (Boston  Public  Library). 

J  Thoreau's  Week  on  the  Concord  and  Merrimack  Rivers ;  Reynold's  Agri- 
cultural Survey  of  Middlesex  County,  in  Transactions  of  Mass.  Society  for 
Promoting  Agriculture,  1859;  Shattuck's  Concord. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  17 

Concord,  were  the  sites  of  populous  villages  of  Pawtucket  or 
Pennacook  Indians,  who,  indeed,  remained,  though  with 
greatly  diminished  numbers,  in  the  present  territory  of  Lowell, 
forty  years  after  the  plague.  Here,  in  spring-time,  from  all 
the  circumjacent  region,  came  thousands  of  the  dusky  sons 
and  daughters  of  the  forest,  catching,  with  rude  stratagem, 
their  winter's  store  of  fish.  Here  they  sat  in  conclave  round 
the  council  fire.  Here  they  threaded  the  fantastic  mazes  of 
the  dance.  ''Here  was  the  war-whoop  sounded,  and  the  death- 
song  sung ;  and  when  the  tiger  strife  was  over,  here  curled 
the  smoke  of  peace." 

The  Pawtuckets,  or  Pennacooks,  were  among  the  most  pow- 
erful tribes  in  New  England,  numbering,  after  the  plague, 
several  thousand  souls.  Their  territory  stretched  almost  from 
the  Penobscot  to  the  Connecticut,  and  included  the  whole  of 
New  Hampshire,  a  part  of  Massachusetts,  and  a  part  of  Maine. 
At  the  head  of  this  tribe,  the  first  English  settlers  found  the 
sagacious  8.nd  wary  Passaconaway,  who,  in  1644,  after  more 
than  twenty  years'  observation  of  the  progress  of  the  English 
settlements,  signed  an  agreement  which  is  still  preserved,  re- 
nouncing his  authority  as  an  independent  chief,  and  placing 
himself  and  his  tribe  under  the  colonial  authorities." 

In  1647,  the  Eev.  John  Eliot,  "  the  Apostle  of  the  Indians," 
began  a  series  of  missionary  visits  to  this  place,  which  were 
continued  by  him  till  the  villages  of  Wamesit  and  Pawtucket 
ceased  to  be.  In  1656,  Major-G-eneral  Daniel  Gookin  was  ap- 
pointed Superintendent  of  all  the  Indians  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Colony,  among  whom  were  the  Indians  living  here. 
Thus  a  sort  of  Indian  Bureau  was  established,  not  unlike  the 
Freedmen's  Bureau  of  a  later  day.  The  Apostle  Eliot  and 
Judge  Gookin  won  the  entire  confidence  of  the  Indians,  being 
about  the  only  white  men  that  came  among  them  who  did  not 
come  to  rob  them. 

*  I  omit  the  details  of  the  Indian  history  of  Lowell,  and  refer  the  reader 
to  my  historical  lecture  on  the  "Memories  of  the  Indians  and  Pioneers"  of  this 
region,  published,  in  pamphlet  form,  in  1862. 


lb  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

In  1652,  Captain  Simon  Willard  and  Captain  Edward 
Johnson,  under  a  commission  from  the  colonial  government, 
ascended  the  Merrimack  in  a  boat,  and  surveyed  the  valley  as 
far  as  Lake  Winnepesawkee.  A  new  impetus  was  given  to 
the  work  of  settlement,  which,  as  early  as  1653,  reached  the 
vicinity  of  Lowell.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  May,  1655,  the 
General  Court  incorporated  the  town  of  Chelmsford,  and  also 
the  town  of  Billerica.'"'^ 

To  secure  the  Indians  from  being  dispossessed  of  their  lands, 
on  which  they  had  erected  substantial  wigwams,  made  enclo- 
sures, and  begun  the  business  of  agriculture,  Eliot,  in  1653, 
procured  the  passage  of  an  act  by  the  General  Court,  reserving 
a  good  part  of  the  land  on  which  Lowell  now  stands  to  the 
exclusive  use  of  the  Indians.  The  bounds  of  Chelmsford,  and 
also  of  this  Wamesit  Indian  Preservation,  were  modified  and 
enlarged  by  the  General  Court  in  1656  and  in  1660.  About 
1665,  a  ditch,  traces  of  which  are  still  visible,  was  cut  to 
mark  the  bounds  of  the  Indian  reservation ;  beginning  on  the 
bank  of  the  Merrimack,  above  the  Falls,  and  running  thence 
southerly,  easterly,  and  northerly,  in  a  semi-circular  line, 
including  about  twenty-five  hundred  acres,  and  termina- 
ting on  the  bank  of  the  Merrimack,  about  a  mile  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Concord. 

The  year  1660  was  signalized  by  an  event  claiming  notice 
in  this  narrative,  though  it  is  uncertain  whether  it  took  place 
here  or  where  Manchester  now  stands :  the  retirement  of  Pas- 
saconaway.  Burdened  with  the  weight  of  about  four  score 
years,  this  veteran  chief  gave  a  grand  though  rude  banquet, 
which  was  attended  by  a  vast  concourse  of  chiefs,  braves,  and 
other  Indians  of  every  degree,  together  with  a  representation 
of  the  new  race  that  was  now  claiming  the  ancient  abode  of 
the  red  man.  Transferring  his  sachemship  to  his  son,  Wan- 
nalancet,  the  old  chief  made  a  farewell  address,  of  which  we 

•  Allen's  Chelmsford ;  Myrick's  Billerica;  Barber's  Historical  Collections. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


19 


have  the  following  report,; — which  is,  perhaps,  as  trustworthy 
as  the  reports  of  speeches  in  the  pictured  pages  of  Livy : — 

"  I  am  now  going  the  way  of  all  the  earth ;  I  am  ready  to  die,  and  not 
likely  to  see  you  ever  met  together  any  more.  I  will  now  leave  this  word 
of  counsel  with  you:  Take  heed  how  you  quarrel  with  the  English.  Harken 
to  the  last  words  of  your  father  and  friend.  The  white  men  are  the  sons  of 
the  morning.  The  Great  Spirit  is  their  father.  His  sun  shines  bright  about 
them.  Never  make  war  with  them.  Sure  as  you  light  the  fires,  the  breath  of 
heaven  will  turn  the  flame  upon  you  and  destroy  you." 

The  local  sachem  of  this  place  dur- 
ing several  succeeding  years  was  Nurap- 
how,  who  was  married  to  one  of  Passa- 
conaway's  daughters.  But  in  1669, 
Wannalancet  and  the  Indians  of  Con- 
cord, iSTew  Hampshire,  fearing  an  attack 
from  the  Mohawks,  came  down  the  Mer- 
rimack in  canoes,  took  up  their  abode  at 
AVamesit,  and  built  a  fort  for  their  pro- 
tection on  the  hill  in  Belvidere,  ever 
since  called  Fort  Hill,  which  they  sur- 
rounded with  palisades.  The  white  settlers  of  the  vicinity, 
participating  in  this  dread  of  the  Mohawks,  shut  themselves 
up  in  garrison  houses. 

In  1674,  Gookin  computed  the  Christian  Indians  then  in 
Wamesit  at  fifteen  families,  or  seventy-five  souls,  and  the  ad- 
herents of  the  old  faith,  or  no-faith,  at  nearly  two  hundred 
more.  At  this  time,  the  Indian  magistrate,  Numphow,  the 
archetype  of  Judge  Locke  and  Judge  Crosby,  held  a  monthly 
court,  taking  cognizance  of  petty  ofi"ences,  in  a  log  cabin,  near 
the  Boott  Canal.  An  Indian  preacher,  Samuel,  imparted  to 
his  clansmen  his  own  crude  views  of  Christianity  at  weekly 
meetings  in  a  log  chapel  near  the  west  end  of  Appleton  street. 
In  May  of  each  year  came  Eliot  and  Gookin,  who  held  a  court 
having  jurisdiction  of  higher  ofi'ences,  and  gave  direction  in 
all  matters  afi^ecting  the  interests  of  the  village.  Numphow's 
cabin  was  Gookin's   court-house,   and   Samuel's   chapel  was 


20 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


Eliot's  cliurch.      Wannalancet  held   his  court  as  chief  in  a 
log  cabin  near  Pawtncket  Falls. 

In  1675,  came  King  PhillijD's  War,  during  which  Wanna- 
lancet  and  our  local  Indians,  faithful  to  the  counsels  of  Passa- 
conaway,  either  took  part  with  the  whites,  or  remained  neutral. 
Their  sufferings  in  consequence  of  this  were  most  severe. 
Some  of  them  were  put  to  death  by  Phillip  for  exposing  his 
designs ;  some  of  them  were  put  to  death  by  the  colonists  as 
Phillip's  accomplices ;  some  fell  in  battle  in  behalf  of  the 
whites ;  while  others  fell  victims  to  the  undiscriminating  hatred 
of  the  low  whites,  whose  passions,  on  the  least  provocation, 
broke  out  with  hellish  fury  against  the  "praying  Indians." 
In  one  instance,  in  1676,  when  all  the  able-bodied  Indians 
had  fled  to  Canada,  and  when  six  or  seven  aged  Indians,  blind 
and  lame,  were  left  here  in  wigwams,  too  infirm  to  be  removed, 
a  party  of  scoundrels  from  Chelmsford  came  to  Wamesit  by 
night,  set  fire  to  these  wigwams  and  burned  all  the  invalids  to 
death.-  What  is  worse,  so  depraved  was  public  sentiment 
during  that  period,  these  wanton  and  cowardly  murderers  were 
allowed  to  go  unpunished.  It  was  impossible  to  find  a  jury 
that  would  return  a  verdict  of  guilty  against  a  white  man  who 
had  killed  an  Indian,  no  matter  under  what  circumstances  of 
atrocity  the  murder  had  been  committed. 

During  this  war  the  white  settlers  in  this  region  were  gath- 
ered for  protection  in  garrisons.  Billerica  escaped  harm;  but 
Chelmsford  was  twice  visited  by  the  partisans  of  Phillip, 
and  several  buildings  were  burned.  Two  sons  of  Samuel  Var- 
num,  living  in  what  is  now  Dracut,  were  shot  while  crossing 
the  Merrimack  with  their  father  in  a  boat. 

In  April,  1676,  Captain  Samuel  Hunting  and  Lieutenant 
James  Eichardson,  under  orders  from  the  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil, erected  a  fort  at  Pawtucket  Falls,  in  which  a  garrison  was 


<-  See  more  of  these  atrocities  in  Cowley's  Indian  and  Pioneer  Memories; 
Gookins  Christian  Indians  in  Transactions  of  the  American  Antiquarian 
Society,  vol.  2;  Oliver's  Puritan  Commonwealth;  Willard  Memoir. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  21 

placed,  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Eichardson.  A  month 
later,  the  garrison  was  reinforced,  and  Captain  Thomas  Hench- 
man placed  in  command.  This  put  an  effectual  check  to  the 
incursions  of  Phillip's  party  in  this  part  of  the  colony. 

When  the  war  was  over,  and  Wannalancet  returned  to 
Wamesit  with  the  remains  of  his  tribe,  he  found  his  corn  fields 
in  the  hands  of  the  whites,  and  he  himself  a  stranger  in  the 
land  of  his  fathers.  By  order  of  the  General  Court,  he  and 
his  people  were  placed  on  Wickasauke  Island,  in  charge  of 
Colonel  Jonathan  Tyng  of  DunstaWe.  In  1686,  Colonel 
Tyng,  Major  Henchman,  and  others,  purchased  of  Wannalan- 
cet and  his  tribe  all  their  remaining  lands  in  this  region,  leav- 
ing them  only  their  rights  of  hunting  and  fishing.  At  length, 
after  passing  through  various  vicissitudes,  and  doing  numerous 
acts  of  kindness  in  return  for  the  injuries  which  the  colonists 
had  inflicted  on  him,  Wannalancet  joined  the  St.  Francis  tribe 
in  Canada,  and  ended  his  days  among  them. 

During  the  nine  years  of  King  William's  War,  which  fol- 
lowed the  English  Eevolution  of  1688,  the  people  of  all  the 
towns  of  this  region  again  took  refuge  in  forts  and  forti- 
fied houses.  The  fort  at  Pawtucket  Falls  was  occupied  by  a 
garrison  under  command  of  Major  Henchman.  But  this  did 
not  entirely  save  them.  On  the  first  of  August,  1092,  a 
party  of  Indians,  in  league  with  the  French  in  Canada,  made  a 
raid  into  Billerica,  and  killed  eight  of  the  inhabitants.  On 
the  fifth  of  August,  1695,  a  similar  party  made  a  raid  into 
what  is  now  Tewksbury,  and  killed  fourteen  of  the  people.  A 
party  of  three  hundred  men,  horse  and  foot,  uiadcr  Colonel  Jo- 
seph Lynde,  scoured  all  the  neighboring  country  in  vain,  in 
search  of  the  foe.  From  this  officer,  Lynde' s  Hill  in  Belvi- 
dere  derives  its  name — he  having  fortified  it,  and  for  some  time 
occupied  it  with  his  command. 

In  1 70 1 ,  the  town  of  Dracut  was  incorporated.  It  contained 
twenty-five  families,   and   had    previously  formed  a  part  of 


22  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

Chelmsford."  It  took  its  name  from  a  parish  in  Wales,  the 
original  home  of  the  Varnums. 

Subsequent  to  the  "  Wamesit  Purchase,"  made  by  Tyng  and 
Henchman,  already  mentioned,  the  lands  of  the  Indian  Eeser- 
vation  were  purchased  in  small  parcels  by  various  persons,  who 
settled  upon  them  as  upon  other  lands  in  Chelmsford.  But  in 
1725,  when  Samuel  Pierce,  who  had  his  domicil  on  the  Indian 
Eeservation,  was  elected  a  member  of  the  General  Court,  he 
was  refused  his  seat,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  not  an  inhabi- 
tant of  Chelmsford.  Thereupon  the  people  of  East  Chelms- 
ford, as  Wamesit  was  then  called,  refused  to  pay  taxes  to 
Chelmsford ;  and  to  remedy  this  mischief,  an  act  was  passed 
annexing  Wamesit  to  that  town. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  October,  1727,  occurred  the  greatest 
earthquake  ever  known  in  this  country.  Walls  and  chimneys 
fell,  and  all  the  towns  on  the  Merrimack  suffered  severely. 

In  1734,  the  General  Court  incorporated  the  town  of  Tewks- 
bury,  the  territory  of  which  had  previously  belonged  to  Bil- 
lerica.  It  took  its  name  from  the  English  parish  of  Tewks- 
bury,  on  the  Severn,  in  Gloucestershire,  so  famous  in  history 
as  the  scene  of  one  of  the  bloodiest  battles  in  the  "Wars 
of  the  Roses."  There  the  partisans  of  the  tlouse  of  York, 
under  Edward  the  Fourth,  and  the  partisans  of  the  House  of 
Lancaster,  under  the  Amazonian  Margaret,  Queen  of  Henry 
the  Sixth,  encountered  each  other's  battle-axes  for  the  last 
time.  There,  after  the  battle,  a  Prince  of-  Wales  was  barbar- 
ously murdered  by  two  royal  Dukes.  There  the  glory  of  the 
royal  House  of  Lancaster  was  eclipsed  in  blood. 

In  1745,  occurred  the  siege  and  capture  of  Louisburg.  To 
the  army  which  Sir  William  Pepperell  led  from  Massachusetts 
against  that  renowned  fortress,  belonged  young  John  Ford, 
and  perhaps  others,  from  what  is  now  Lowell. 

At  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  two  companies  of  Chelmsford 
men,  one  under  Captain  John  Ford,  the  other  under  Captain 

*  Lowell  Citizen  and  News,  October,  1859. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  23 

Benjamin  Walker,  and  one  company  composed  largely  of  Dra- 
cut  men,  under  Captain  Peter  Colburn,  were  present,  and  ac- 
quitted themselves  with  credit.  There  are  two  traditions  con- 
nected with  this  event  which  must  not  be  lost,  notwithstanding 
the  gigantic  battles  of  the  late  Rebellion  have  thrown  all  the 
engagements  of  the  Revolution  into  the  shade.  It  is  said  that 
when  the  first  man  in  Ford's  company  fell,  his  comrades,  then 
for  the  first  time  under  fire,  were  seized  with  panic  ;  but  there- 
upon one  of  Ford's  officers  began  to  sing  Old  Hundred  in  a 
firm  voice,  and  this  so  reassured  the  men  that  they  gave  no 
further  sign  of  panic.  The  other  tradition  of  this  battle  is, 
that,  just  as  the  ammunition  of  the  Americans  was  exhausted, 
and  orders  were  given  to  retreat,  a  British  officer  mounted  the 
breastworks,  and,  with  a  flourish  of  his  sword,  exclaimed, 
"Now,  my  boys,  we  have  you."  Hearing  this,  Captain  Col- 
burn of  Dracut  picked  up  a  stone,  about  the  size  of  a  hen's 
egg,  and,  throwing  it  with  all  his  might,  hit  the  officer  in  the 
forehead,  knocking  him  down  backwards.  The  Captain  and 
his  men  then  hastily  retreated  with  the  rest  of  the  American 
forces. 

In  November,  1776,  committees  from  all  the  towns  of  this 
region  met  in  convention  at  the  house  of  Major  Joseph  Varnum 
in  Dracut,  and  petitioned  the  colonial  legislatures  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  New  Hampshire  for  a  law  to  regulate  prices, 
which  had  been  fearfully  enhanced  by  the  Revolutionary  War, 
then  pending.^'-=  The  proceedings  of  this  convention  show  that 
its  members  participated  in  that  ignorance. of  the  principles  of 
political  economy,  which  was  universal  till  the  time  of  Adam 
Smith,  and  which  is  by  no  means  dispelled  in  the  days  of  John 
Stuart  Mill. 

This  region  has  the  honor  of  having  contributed  one  of  the 
most  useful,  though  not  one  of  the  most  brilliant,  statesmen 
who  served  the  American  Colonies  in  their  struggle  for  national 
independence — Simeon  Spaulding  of  Chelmsford.      He  was  a 

♦New  Hampshire  Historical  CollectionB,  vol.  2,  pp.  58-68. 


24  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

Colonel  of  Militia  when  the  duties  of  the  Militia,  and  the 
protection  which  it  afforded,  made  that  office  one  of  real  impor- 
tance. From  1771  to  1775  he  was  a  member  of  the  G-eneral 
Court.  From  1775  to  1778  he  served  in  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress, and  during  one  of  these  years  was  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  of  Public  Safety.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Convention  of  1779,  which  framed  the  State  Constitution. 
He  died  in  1785.- 

During  Shay's  Eebellion,  in  1786,  a  body  of  Chelmsford 
Militia  served  under  General  Lincoln  in  the  western  counties ; 
and  "  on  the  memorable  thirtieth  of  January,"  as  Allen 
writes,  "performed  a  march  of  thirty  miles,  without  refresh- 
ment, through  deep  snows,  in  a  stormy  and  severely  cold  night ; 
a  march  that  would  have  done  honor  to  the  veteran  soldiers  of 
Hannibal  or  Napoleon." 

The  people  of  Chelmsford,  from  the  earliest  period  of  their 
local  history,  gave  every  encouragement  to  millers,  lumber- 
men, mechanics,  and  traders,  making  grants  of  land,  with  tem- 
porary exemption  from  taxation,  to  such  as  would  settle  in  their 
town.  Accordingly,  Chelmsford  became  distinguished  for  its 
saw-mills,  grist-mills,  and  mechanics'  shops  of  various  kinds. 
Establishments  of  the  same  kind  also  arose  in  Billerica,  Dra- 
cut  and  Tewksbury. 

It  is  but  fair,  though  far  from  flattering,  to  record  the  fact, 
that  the  mother  towns  of  Lowell  were  among  the  last  to  abandon 
slavery. f  Till  near  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  ne- 
gro slaves  were  kept  on  what  is  now  the  Moor  farm,  and  also 
on  what  afterward  became  known  as  the  Livermore  place, 
where  Phillip  Gedney,  a  former  British  Consul  at  Demarara, 
then  resided. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  last  century,  this  region  became 
the  theatre  of  an  active  business  in  wood  and  lumber.  The 
forests  along  the  shores  of  the  Merrimack,   which  had  never 

*  Allen's  Chelmsford ;  Lowell  Courier,  September  23—29,  1859. 
t  See  Moore's  Slavery  in  Massachusetts. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  25 

before  rung  with  the  sound  of  the  woodman's  axe,  afforded  an 
exhaiistless  supply  of  materials  for  rafts,  which  already  com- 
manded a  good  price  at  Newburyport  and  other  towns  on  the 
sea-board.  But  the  descent  of  the  river  at  Pawtucket  Falls 
was  so  precipitous, — the  current  so  violent,  and  the  channel  so 
rocky, — that  great  difficulty  was  experienced  in  passing  rafts 
down  the  rapids.  A  canal  round  the  falls  for  the  passage  of 
boats,  rafts  and  masts  was  first  suggested  for  the  convenience 
of  the  lumbermen,  thirty  years  before  any  one  dreamed  of 
using  the  waters  for  the  purpose  of  manufactures  ;  though  from 
about  the  time  of  the  Revolution  there  had  been  a  saw-mill 
below  Pawtucket  Falls,  driven  by  the  Merrimack.  It  was 
owned  about  this  time  by  John  Tyng  of  Tyngsborough,  a  Judge 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 

In  1792,  Dudley  A.  Tyng,  William  Coombs,  and  others, 
were  incorporated  as  *'  The  Proprietors  of  the  Locks  and  Ca- 
nals on  Merrimack  Eiver.  "=■'■'=  They  at  once  proceeded  to  open  a 
canal,  one  and  a  half  miles  long,  connecting  Merrimack  Eiver 
above  the  falls  with  the  Concord  below.  The  level  of  the 
water  in  the  lower  end  of  the  canal,  a  brief  distance  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Concord,  was  thirty-two  feet  lower  than  the  level 
of  the  water  at  the  upper  end.  The  descent  was  accomplished 
by  means  of  four  sets  of  locks.  The  canal  occupied  less  than 
five  years  in  its  construction,  and  cost  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

When  the  first  boat  passed  down  the  canal  in  1797,  with 
the  directors  and  other  gentlemen  on  board,  and  hundreds  of 
men,  women  and  children  as  spectators  on  the  banks,  an  inci- 
dent occurred,  of  which  Allen  gives  a  very  lively  account. 
One  side  of  the  canal  gave  way  ;  the  water  burst  upon  the 
the  people,  and  the  greatest  confusion  ensued.  "  Infants  were 
separated  from  their  mothers,  children  from  their  parents, 
wives  from  their  husbands,  young  ladies  from  their  gallants  ; 
and  men,  women,  timber,  and  broken  boards  and  planks,  were 
seen  promiscuously  floating  in  the  water."     Nantes — rari  ap- 

♦7  Mass.  Rep.  p.  163. 

3 


26  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

'parent  in  gurgite  vasto.  But  no  life  was  lost,  and  no  serious 
injury  incurred. 

The  stock  of  the  Locks  and  Canals  Company  was  divided 
into  five  hundred  shares,  owned  by  individuals  in  Middlesex 
and  Essex  Counties.  But  the  dividends  declared  were  never 
considerable ;  and  the  stock  soon  fell  far  below  par  in  conse- 
quence of  the  successful  competition  of  the  Middlesex  Canal 
with  the  business. 

In  the  same  year  that  the  Locks  and  Canals  Company  were 
incorporated,  Parker  Yarnum  of  Dracut  and  others  were  in- 
corporated as  *'  The  Proprietors  of  the  Middlesex  Merrimack 
Kiver  Bridge,"  and  the  first  bridge  across  the  Merrimack 
was  constructed  by  them  at  Pawtucket  Falls.  It  was  entirely 
of  wood.  Previous  to  this  time,  the  only  public  conveyance 
over  the  Merrimack  was  by  a  toll  ferry-boat.  The  Concord 
had  been  bridged  nearly  twenty  years  earlier. 

In  1793,  the  Proprietors  of  the  Middlesex  Canal  were  incor- 
porated. Mr.  Weston,  an  eminent  English  engineer,  was  em- 
ployed to  survey  the  channel  of  the  canal ;  and  Loammi  Bald- 
win of  Woburn  superintended  its  construction,  and  was  the 
animating  soul  of  the  work.  This  canal  began  on  the  Merri- 
mack, about  a  mile  above  Pawtucket  Falls,  extended  south 
by  east  a  distance  of  thirty-one  miles,  and  terminated  in  Charles- 
town.  It  was  completed  in  1804,  and  cost  seven  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  It  was  twenty-four  feet  wide  and  four  feet 
deep,  and  was  fed  by  Concord  Kiver.  In  digging  this  canal, 
pine  cones  and  charcoal  were  found,  twelve  feet  below  the  sur- 
face, specimens  of  which  were  long  exhibited  in  the  Museum  at 
Cambridge.  The  excavations  made  for  this  canal,  and  also 
those  previously  made  for  the  Pawtucket  Canal,  disclosed  un- 
mistakable proofs  that  the  channel  of  the  Merrimack,  in  this 
vicinity,  was  once  a  considerable  distance  south  and  west  of 
its  present  situation — that  the  Merrimack  formerly  ran  by  the 
southwest  side  of  Fort  Hill,  instead  of  by  the  northeast 
side. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  27 

This  Canal  was  the  first  in  the  United  States  that  was 
opened  for  the  transportation  of  passengers  and  merchandise ; 
and  some  are  still  living  who  were  often  passengers  in  the  neat 
little  packet-boat,  "  Governor  Sullivan,"  which  plied  between 
Boston  and  Lowell,  through  the  waters  of  the  Middlesex  Ca- 
nal, occupying  nearly  the  whole  day  in  the  passage.  Connect- 
ing Boston  with  the  upper  Merrimack,  the  channel  of  which 
was  navigable  the  entire  distance  from  Pawtucket  Falls  up  to 
Concord,  it  formed  an  important  artery  for  the  lumber  busi- 
ness, which  had  long  been  very  extensive  here,  as  well  as  for 
the  new  industries  then  in  process  of  development.  Vast 
quantities  of  timber  grown  around  Winnepesawkee  Lake,  on 
the  Merrimack  and  its  branches,  and  on  Massabesic  Pond,  and 
the  produce  of  a  great  extent  of  fertile  country,  were  trans- 
ported to  Boston  by  this  canal."' 

The  first  boat  voyage  from  Boston,  by  the  Middlesex  Canal 
and  the  Merrimack  River,  to  Concord,  (N.  H.),  was  made  in 
the  autumn  of  1814.  The  first  steamboat  from.  Boston  reached 
Concord  in  1819.  Had  this  canal  been  kept  open  until  now, 
it  is  difficult  to  see  why  it  might  not  still  be  profitably  con- 
ducted. But  its  day  has  gone  by,  and  its  history  may  as  well 
be  ended  here  as  hereafter. 

As  the  competition  of  the  Middlesex  Canal  ruinously  re- 
duced the  value  of  the  property  of  the  Pawtucket  Canal,  so, 
in  the  retributive  justice  of  years,  other  competition — the  in- 
troduction of  railroads — extinguished  the  value  of  the  stock 
of  the  Middlesex  Canal.  A  striking  example  of  "  the  revenges 
of  history."  In  1853,  navigation  was  discontinued  in  the 
canal,  and  soon  afterward  portions  of  its  banks  were  levelled, 
and  parts  of  the  channel  filled  up.  The  income  of  the  stock 
hardly  averaged  three  and  a  half  per  cent.;  and  the  proprie- 
tors, hopeless  of  any  better  dividends,  disposed  of  all  their 
saleable  property,   and    abandoned  their  franchise,  of  which 

®Sce  Armory's  Life  of  Governor  Sullivan. 


28  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

they  had  once  been  proud.  On  the  third  of  October,  1859, 
the  proprietors  were  declared,  by  a  decree  of  the  Supreme  Judi- 
cial Court,  to  have  forfeited  all  their  franchises  and  privileges, 
by-  reason  of  non-feasance,  non-user,  misfeasance  and  neglect. 
Thus  was  the  corporation  forever  extinguished. 


CHAPTER  11. 

INTRODUCTION  OF  MANUFACTURES, 

Modern  Factory  System — Inventors — Kay — Paul — Wyatt — Hargreaves — Hfgns 
— Arkwright— Peel  —  Crompton— Watt  —  Cartwright  —  Bell  — BerthoUet— 
Scheele — Chivalry  of  Industry — France — Manufactures  in  the  United  States 
—Beverly— Byfield— Samuel  Slater —  Moses  Hals— War  of  1812— PftineaS 
Whiting— Josiah  Fletcher- Oliver  M,  Whipple— Thomas  Hurd— Winthrop 
Ho\ve — Bridge  over  the  Concord — Asahel  Stearns— General  Varnum. 

The  rise  of  the  modern  Factory  System  marks  one  of  the 
grandest  epochs  in  the  progress  of  mankind.  The  arts  of  card- 
ing, spinning,  weaving,  bleaching,  dyeing  and  printing  cotton, 
woollen  and  linen  fabrics,  have  been  practiced  from  the  re- 
motest ages  of  history,  and  were  practiced  in  pre-historio 
times.  Scarcely  a  century  has  elapsed  since  these  arts  were 
pursued  as  mere  domestic  handicrafts.  No  progress  of  moment 
had  been  made  in  them,  no  new  implements  had  been  intro- 
duced, for  a  thousand  years.  But  during  the  closing  forty 
years  of  the  last  century,  these  arts  were  raised  from  a  state  of 
utter  insignificance  to  a  national  and  world-wide  importance, 
and  were  developed  into  the  most  elaborate  and  mature  sys- 
tem of  industry  the  world  has  ever  seen. 

As  the  great  inventions  which  wrought  this  wonderful  change 
were  achieved  long  before  the  building  of  Lowell,  a  rapid  ac- 
count of  them  will  be  all  that  the  purposes  of  this  history  re- 
quire.     But  they  can  hardly  be  passed  unnoticed,  for  without 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  29 

tliem  Lowell  must  have  remained  a  border  hamlet  of  an  ob- 
scure town. 

The  first  modern  invention  that  led  to  any  important  im- 
provement in  manufacturing,  was  John  Kay's  fly-shuttle,  pa- 
tented in  1733,  but  strange  to  say,  not  introduced  into  this 
country  for  more  than  fifty  years  after  it  was  first  used  in 
England. 

In  1738,  Lewis  Paul  obtained  a  patent  for  the  first  machin- 
ery for  spinning, — invented,  several  years  before,  by  John 
Wyatt.  In  1740,  manufacturing  was  commenced  at  Man- 
chester, England.  In  1748,  Paul  obtained  a  patent  for  the 
first  cylinder  carding-machine.  In  1758,  he  obtained  another 
patent  for  improved  machinery  for  spinning. 

In  1760,  Piobert  Kay  invented  the  drop-box,  by  which  fill- 
ing of  difi'erent  colors  could  be  used  in  weaving  with  the  fly- 
shuttle.  In  the  same  year,  James  Hargreaves  constructed  a 
carding-machine  corresponding  substantially  with  the  carding- 
machines  now  in  use.  Two  years  later,  Hargreaves  obtained 
a  patent  for  the  spinning-jenney,  which,  however,  seems  to 
have  been  invented,  in  1764,  by  Thomas  Highs. 

In  1769,  Piichard  Arkwright  obtained  a  patent  for  his  spin- 
ning frame  or  throstle.  Six  vears  later,  he  obtained  another 
patent  for  improvements  in  carding,  drawing  and  spinning.  In 
1779,  Kobert  Peel,  father  of  the  celebrated  statesman,  obtained 
a  patent  for  improved  machinery  of  the  same  kind.  In  the 
same  year,  Samuel  Crompton  combined  the  excellencies  of 
Hargraves'  jenny  with  Ark  Wright's  throstle,  in  a  new  spin- 
ning-machine, which,  from  its  hybrid  nature,  he  called  a  mule. 

These  triumphs  of  inventive  skill  led  to  the  substitution, 
first,  of  horse-power  for  hand-power,  and  then  of  water-power 
for  horse-power.  The  year  1  789  was  signalized  by  the  appli- 
cation of  steam-power  to  manufacturing  purposes,  one  of  James 
AVatt's  engines  being  introduced  in  a  factory  in  Manchester. 

In  1785,  the  Rev.  Samuel   Cartwright  took  out  his  first"  pa- 
tent for  the  power-loom.      Other  similar  patents  were  after- 
30 


30  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

ward  taken  out  by  him  and  by  otliers ;  but  power-loom  weav- 
ing realized  only  partial  success  until  after  the  dressing-frame 
had  been  invented  by  RadclifF,  Boss  and  Johnson  in  1803; 
and  1806  is  the  accepted  date  of  the  successful  introduction 
of  the  power-loom  into  Manchester  in  England. 

In  1785,  Thomas  Bell  obtained  his  patent  for  cylinder 
printing.  Calico  printing,  however,  had  been  introduced  by 
the  Claytons,  twenty  years  before.  In  the  same  year,  Berthol- 
let  first  applied  chlorine  (then  called  dephlogisticated  muri- 
atic acid)  to  bleaching.  But  Scheele,  a  Swedish  chemist,  had 
discovered  the  properties  of  chlorine  in  destroying  vegetable 
colors,  ten  years  prior  to  its  application  by  BerthoUet  in  France. 

Thus,  as  an  able  writer  says,  "  while  Burke  was  lamenting 
the  fall  of  chivalry,  while  Hastings  was  extending  the 
British  Empire  in  the  East,  and  while  Pitt  was  initiating  his 
retrograde  policy,  men  of  that  class  which  was  destined  to 
reap  the  most  benefit  from  the  transformation,  were  inaugura- 
ting the  industrial  system,  destined  to  succeed  the  first,  utilize 
the  second,  and  destroy  the  third.  From  the  weaver's  cottage 
at  Blackburn,  and  from  the  barber's  shop  at  Preston,  went  forth 
powers  as  pregnant  with  consequences  to  Britain  [and  to  the 
world]  as  ever  issued  from  the  Parliament-House  at  Westmin- 
ster, or  the  Council-Chamber  in  Bengal. "=■-= 

Other  nations  followed.  In  France,  the  genius  of  Napoleon 
introduced  the  Cotton  Manufacture,  including  yarns,  cloths, 
and  prints.  "Before  the  Empire,  the  art  of  spinning  cotton 
was  not  known  in  France ;  and  cotton  clothes  were  imported 
from  abroad."! 

These  inventions  of  the  mechanical  genius  of  Europe  soon 
found  their  way  to  the  United  States.  The  first  machinery 
for  carding  and  spinning  cotton  put  in  operation  in  this  coun- 
try, was  started  at  Beverly,  in  Massachusetts,  in  1787,  and 
was  driven  by  horse-power.     Other  cotton  factories  were  soon 

*  Westminster  Review,  April,  1861. 

t  Napoleon  the  Third's  Napoleonic  Ideas,  p.  69. 


O 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  31 

afterward  established  in  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware  and  New  Jersey.  But  the  year 
1793 — the  same  year  in  which  Eli  Whitney  gave  to  the  world 
his  invaluable  legacy  of  the  Cotton  Gin— is  the  generally  ac- 
cepted date  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture  in  the  United  States, 
since  it  was  during  that  year  that  Samuel  Slater — "the  father 
of  the  Cotton  Manufacture  in  America" — started  his  first  cot- 
ton factory,  with  Arkwright  machinery,  driven  by  water- 
power,  at  Pawtucket  in  Rhode  Island.  By  a  singular  coinci- 
dence of  dates,  in  the  same  year,  the  first  factory  in  this  coun- 
try, for  carding  and  spinning  wool  by  machinery,  was  started 
at  Byfield  in  Massachusetts. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  the  cotton  and 
woollen  factories  of  Great  Britain  were  counted  by  hundreds : 
and,  perhaps,  a  dozen  such  factories  had  been  started  in  the 
United  States.-"^ 

This  rapid  survey  of  the  rise  of  modern  manufactures  brings 
us  to  the  starting  of  the  first  carding  machine  in  the  region  of 
Lowell.  It  was  in  1801  that  Moses  Hale,  whose  father  had 
long  before  started  a  fulling  mill  in  Dracut,  established 
his  carding  mill  on  River  Meadow  Brook, — the  first  enterprise 
of  the  kind  in  Middlesex  County.  This  mill  still  stands,  be- 
tween Hale's  Mills  and  Whipple's  Mills,  and  was  one  of  the 
mills  which  for  many  years  were  run  by  the  late  Joshua 
Mather,  a  native  of  Preston,  the  town  of  Richard  Arkwright, 
the  great  inventor  and  systematizer  of  cotton-spinning  machin- 
ery in  England.  A  saw-mill  was  also  started  about  the  same 
time  by  Mr.  Hale,  on  the  same  stream. 

In  1805,  the  bridge  built  across  Merrimack  River  at  Paw- 
tucket Palis  in  1792,  was  demolished,  and  a  new  bridge,  with 
stone  piers  and  abutments,  constructed  in  its  place,  at  a  cost 
exceeding   fourteen    thousand   dollars.      This   bridge  is  still 

*Sce  Batchelder's  valuable  little  book  on  the  Cotton  Manufacture;  Bains' 
History  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture  in  Great  Britain  ;  Bishop's  History  of  Amer- 
ican Manufactures;  "White's  Memoir  of  Samuel  Slater,  etc. 


32  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

standing,  though  essential  improvements  have  been  made  in  it 
from  time  to  time.     It  was  made  free  in  1860. 

The  year  1812  brought  the  second  war  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  when  British  cruisers  swept  our 
commerce  from  the  seas.  Until  then,  most  of  our  manufac- 
tured goods  had  been  imported  from  England.  Domestic  man- 
ufactures there  were  comparatively  none,  except  such  domestic 
fabrics  as  were  spun  upon  the  spinning-wheel,  and  woven  upon 
the  hand-loom,  by  the  dames  of  the  rural  districts.  No  sooner 
was  importation  stopped  by  the  war,  than  imported  fabrics 
commanded  famine  prices.  Public  attention  was  irresistibly 
attracted,  and  a  powerful  impetus  given,  to  American  manu- 
factures. Large  investments  of  capital  were  made  ;  and  mills 
started  up  all  over  the  Union,  but  more  especially  in  Massachu- 
setts. Such  of  them  as  were  started  here,  were  driven  by 
Concord  Eiver  power.  ISTo  "  wizard  of  mechanism  "  had  yet 
laid  his  hand  on  the  lordly  Merrimack,  and  put  it  on  duty,  like 
a  chained  convict  or  a  galley  slave. 

In  1813,  twenty-six  years  after  the  first  attempt  in  the  United 
States  to  manufacture  cotton  by  machinery  was  made  at  Bev- 
erly, Captain  Phineas  Whiting  and  Major  Josiah  Fletcher 
erected  a  wooden  cotton-mill  on  the  present  site  of  the  Mid- 
dlesex Company's  mills,  at  an  outlay  of  about  three  thousand 
dollars,  and  carried  on  the  business  with  some  success.  John 
Golding  entered  upon  a  similar  enterprise  near  by,  about  the 
same  time,  but  failed. 

The  year  1815  is  associated  with  the  tradition  of  the  most 
disastrous  gale  that  had  swept  New  England  since  the  famous 
gale  of  1635,  when  the  tide  rose  twenty  feet  perpendicularly 
in  Narragansett  Bay.  It  was  particularly  severe  in  the  town 
of  Chelmsford,  then  including  Lowell.  It  "spread  the  ruin 
round,"  like  a  devastating  fire.  Not  less  than  fifty  thousand 
cords  of  standing  timber,  besides  several  houses,  were  de- 
stroyed,— the  trees  being  torn  up  by  the  roots,  and  the  houses 
removed  from  their  foundations. 


# 


HISTORY   OF   LOWELL.  33 

The  saw-mill  and  grist-mill  of  the  Messrs.  Bowers,  at  Paw- 
tucket  Falls,  were  started  in  1816.  Ahout  the  same  time, 
another  grist-mill  was  started  by  Nathan  Tyler,  where  the 
Middlesex  Company's  Mill  No.  3  now  stands.  At  the  junction 
of  the  Concord  and  Merrimack  rivers,  stood  the  saw-mill  of 
Captain  John  Ford.  There  is  a  tradition,  not  very  well  au- 
thenticated, that  Captain  Ford  once  killed  an  Indian  by  pitch- 
ing him  into  the  wheel-pit  of  this  saw-mill ;  the  Indian  being 
on  the  watch  for  a  chance  to  take  the  life  of  the  captain,  who 
had  killed  one  of  his  brothers  during  a  former  war. 

In  1818,  Moses  Hale  started  the  powder-mills  on  Concord 
Eiver,  with  forty  pestles.  Mr.  Oliver  M.  Whipple  and  Mr. 
"William  Tileston  of  Boston  engaged  in  the  business  with  Mr. 
Hale  in  1819.  In  1821,  Whipple's  Canal  was  opened  by 
them.  In  the  same  year,  Moses  Hale  disposed  of  his  interest 
in  the  business  to  David  Hale,^  who  retained  his  connection 
with  it  till  1827,  when  he  in  turn  sold  out  to  his  partners,  and 
became  editor  of  the  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce.  Mr. 
Tileston  retired  in  1829,  and  Mr.  Whipple  remained  as  sole 
proprietor  till  1855,  when  the  manufacture  of  powder  was  dis- 
continued in  Lowell.  The  business  was  enlarged  from  time  to 
time,  and  was  in  its  zenith  during  the  Mexican  War.  Nearly 
a  million  pounds  of  powder  were  manufactured  here  during  a 
single  year  of  that  contest.  Mr.  W^hipple  amassed  a  handsome 
fortune  i3y  the  manufacture  of  this  ''destructive  element." 
When  Mr.  Whipple  first  came  to  Lowell,  in  1818,  his  whole 
capital  was  but  six  hundred  dollars.  His  subsequent  success 
in  his  business  operations  entitles  him  to  a  high  place  among 
those  who,  without  the  aid  of  inherited  wealth,  make  their  own 
fortunes,  and  conquor  their  own  position  in  the  world. 

In  1818,  Thomas  Hurd  removed  to  East  Chelmsford  (as  we 
must  still  call  Lowell) ,  and  purchased  the  cotton  mill,  started 
five  years  before,  by  Whiting  &  Fletcher.  He  converted  it 
into  a  woollen  mill,  and  ran  sixteen  hand-looms  for  the  manu- 
facture of  satinets.      He  also  built  a  larger  brick  mill  for  the 


34  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

manufacture  of  the  same  class  of  goods.  Mr.  Kurd's  mill  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  rebuilt  in  1826.  About  this  time,  be- 
ing in  want  of  additional  power,  he  built  the  Middlesex  Canal, 
conveying  water  from  Pawtucket  Canal  to  his  satinet  mills. 
Mr.  Kurd  was  the  first  man  in  this  country  who  manufactured 
satinet  by  water-power,  having  had  a  mill  at  Stoneham  before 
he  came  to  Lowell.  He  continued  to  run  these  works  until  the 
great  re-action  of  trade  in  1828,  when  he  became  bankrupt, 
and  the  property,  in  1830,  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Mid- 
dlesex Company. 

About  the  time  of  Mr.  Kurd's  appearance  here^  Winthrop 
Howe  started  a  mill  for  the  manufacture  of  flannels  at  Wam- 
esit  Falls  in  Belvidere.  Mr.  Howe  continued  to  manufacture 
flannels  by  hand-looms  till  1827,  when  he  sold  his  mill  to 
Harrison  G-.  Howe,  who  introduced  power-looms  in  lieu  of 
hand-looms,  and  continued  the  business  till  1831,  when  he 
sold  it  to  John  Nesmith  and  others. 

The  bridge  built  across  the  Concord  near-its  mouth  in  1774, 
was  demolished  in  1819,  and  its  place  supplied  by  a  superior 
structure.  The  bridge  on  East  Merrimack  Street,  connecting 
Belvidere  with  the  main  part  of  the  city,  stands  near  the  site  of 
the  bridge  of  1819,  the  last-named  bridge  having  been  several 
times  renewed. 

The  dam  across  Concord  Eiver  at  Massic  Falls,  where  Eich- 
mond's  Batting  Mills  now  stand,  was  constructed  about  this 
time,  and  a  Forging  Mill  established,  by  Messrs.  Fisher  & 
Ames.  Their  works  were  considerably  extended  in  1823,  and 
continued  by  them  till  1836,  when  they  sold  their  privilege  to 
Perez  0.  Pdchmond. 

While  new  men  were  thus  coming  to  this  place,  an  old  and 
distinguished  resident — Asahel  Stearns — removed  elsewhere. 
He  was  the  pioneer  lawyer  of  this  vicinity,  and  has  scarcely 
had  a  superior  araong  all  his  successors.  He  was  born  at 
Lunenburg,  June  17,  1774,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  in  1797. 
He  was  educated  for  the  bar,  admitted  to  practice  about  1 800, 
and  married  the  same  year.     He  opened  an  office  near  Paw- 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  35 

tucket  Falls,  wliere  he  practiced  law  till  1817.  He  was  for 
several  years  District  Attorney  ;  Member  of  Congress  in  1815- 
17  ;  and  in  the  latter  year  was  apjDointed  Professor  of  Law  at 
Harvard,  which  position  in  1829  he  resigned.  He  published, 
in  1824,  a  work  of  much  celebrity  on  the  Law  of  Eeal  Ac- 
tions, and  was  a  Commissioner  with  Judge  Jackson  and  Mr. 
Pickering  to  revise  the  Statutes  of  the  Commonwealth.  He 
died  at  Cambridge,  February  5,  1839,  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of 
his  age.  He  was  a  learned  and  skillful  lawyer,  a  zealous  advo- 
cate, a  gentleman  of  suavity,  integrity  and  kindness. 

Within  a  few  years  after  the  removal  of  Mr.  Stearns,  occur- 
red the  death  of  the  most  distinguished  man  of  the  Merrimack 
Valley — Major-General  Yarnum  of  Dracut.  Born  in  1751, 
Joseph  B.  Varnum  had  accomplished  the  **  three  score  years  and 
ten"  which  the  Psalmist  allots  to  man,  when,  in  1S21,  he  re- 
ceived that  summons  which  no  child  of  mortality  can  ever  dis- 
obey. The  record  of  his  life  shows  him  to  have  been  continu- 
ally in  office  ;  and  the  traditions  that  have  survived  him  repre- 
sent him  as  a  man  of  extraordinary  native  powers,  highly 
developed,  not  so  much  by  books  as  by  contact  with  men  and 
events.  He  was  a  Captain  of  Militia  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
through  the  Eevolution,  and  until  1787,  when  he  became  a 
Colonel.  In  1802,  he  was  made  Brigadier-General,  and 
three  years  later  Major-General,  which  rank  he  retained  till 
his  death.  From  1780  to  1795,  he  was  an  active  member  of 
the  Massachusetts  Legislature.  As  President  of  the  Senate, 
he  presided  at  the  trial  of  Judge  Prescott,  and  had  a  rough 
"passage"  with  Daniel  Webster,  who  was  Prescott's  counsel. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Convention  which  framed  the  State 
Constitution  in  1780,  and  of  the  Convention  which  revised  it 
in  1820.  From  1795  to  1817,  he  was  a  member  of  Congress; 
for  four  of  these  years  he  was  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  for 
one  year  he  was  President  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate.  The 
traveller  from  Lowell  on  the  Methuen  road  often  turns  aside,  in 
passing  through  Dracut,  to  read  his  epitaph  on  the  bead-stone 
which  stands  where  his  ashes  repose. 


36  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

CHAPTEK  III. 

THE   FIRST    MANUFACTURING    CORPORATION. 

The  Waltham  Company — The  Lowell  Family — Judge  Lowell— John  Lowell- 
Francis  C.  Lowell — Patrick  T.  Jackson — Nathan  Appleton— Introduction 
of  the  Power-Loom — Paul  Moody— Death  of  Francis  C.  Lowell — John 
Lowell,  Junior. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  events  connected  with  the  early 
history  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture  in  America,  was  the  intro- 
duction of  the  power-loom,  in  1814,  at  Waltham.  The  chief 
actor  in  this  enterprise  was  Francis  Cabot  Lowell,  from 
whom  our  city  was  so  appropriately  named.  Among  the  others 
were  Patrick  Tracy  Jackson,  Nathan  Appleton,  and  Paul 
Moody,  who  afterward  became  the  fathers  of  Lowell,  and  in- 
troduced here  "  the  Waltham  system,"  in  all  its  details  of 
factory  machinery,  factory  boarding-houses,  and  wages  paid 
monthly  in  cash.  Some  account  of  these  men  and  of  this 
Waltham  enterprise  must  therefore  be  given  before  we  proceed 
to  the  building  of  the  mills  at  Lowell. 

The  Lowells  are  among  the  most  distinguished  families  in 
America,  and  are  the  descendants  of  Percival  Lowell,  who 
emigrated  from  Cleaveland,  near  Bristol,  in  England,  and  set- 
tled in  Newbury  in  1639.  The  first  member  of  this  family 
who  achieved  any  particular  distinction  was  the  Hon.  John 
Lowell,  father  of  Francis  Cabot  Lowell,  and  son  of  the  Eev. 
John  Lowell,  the  first  minister  of  Newburyport.  He  was  a 
leading  member  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  in  1776,  and  of 
the  Convention  which  framed  the  Constitution  of  Massachu- 
setts in  1780.  He  was  the  principal  champion  of  the  move- 
ment for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  this  State  in  1783, — an 
active  and  influential  member  of  the  Continental  Congress, — 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  Admiralty,  appointed  by 
Congress, — and  the  first  Judge  of  the  District  Court  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, by  appointment  of  President  Washington. 


J 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  o/ 

Judge  Lowell  died  in  1802.  His  sons  all  rose  to  distinc- 
tion. One  of  them,  John  Lowell,  always  refused  to  accept 
public  office,  but  wielded  a  controlling  influence  in  the  Federal 
party  for  more  than  twenty  years, — held  the  highest  rank  in 
the  profession  of  the  Law, — was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  the 
Boston  Savings  Bank,  the  Hospital  Life  Insurance  Company, 
and  other  institutions  for  the  public  good,  and  died  of  apo- 
plexy in  1840,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years. 

Francis  Cabot  Lowell,  another  son  of  the  distinguished 
Judge  Lowell,  was  born  in  Newbury  port,  April  7th,  1774,  and 
graduated  at  Harvard  in  1783.  He  engaged  in  mercantile 
business,  with  good  success,  in  Boston.  His  friend  and  asso- 
ciate, Patrick  Tracy  Jackson,  was  also  born  in  Newburyport,  in 
1780,  and  was  the  son  of  the  Hon.  Jonathan  Jackson,  who  was 
a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  in  1782,  and  filled  other 
distinguished  positions  in  State  and  Nation.  As  Marshal  of 
the  District  of  Massachusetts,  by  appointment  of  President 
Washington,  the  father  of  Mr.  Jackson  served  the  monitions, 
etc.,  issued  by  the  father  of  Mr.  Lowell,  as  Judge  of  the  Dis- 
trict Court. 

Nathan  Appleton  was  one  year  senior  to  Mr.  Jackson,  and 
.five  years  junior  to  Mr.  Lowell,  having  been  born  in  1779,  at 
New  Ipswich  in  New  Hampshire.  In  1794,  he  engaged  in 
commercial  pursuits,  at  Boston,  with  his  brother,  Samuel  A-p- 
pleton,  whose  partner  he  became  as  soon  as  he  attained  his 
majority,  in  1800.  In  the  next  year,  business  called  him  to 
Europe.  While  in  France,  he  met  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  then 
firmly  seated  in  the  Consular  Chair,  and  preparing  to  ascend 
the  Imperial  Throne, — his  star  burning  brightly  in  the 
zenith,  — his  brow  radiant  with  the  glory  of  Marengo. 
In  1810,  Appleton's  business  again  called  hirn  to  Europe. 
In  1811,  at  Edinburgh,  he  met  his  Boston  friend,  Francis 
Cabot  Lowell ;  and  the  meeting,  as  we  shall  see,  proved  prolific 
of  results. 
4 


38  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

The  restraints  imposed  on  commerce,  which  finally  culmina- 
ted in  the  war  of  1812,  led  Mr.  Lowell  to  close  his  husiness  as 
a  merchant;  and  in  1810,  on  account  of  the  feebleness  of  his 
health,  he  visited  England  with  his  family,  and  spent  two 
years  in  that  country  and  in  Scotland.  While  there,  his  mind 
became  deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of  manufactur- 
ing industry  as  a  source  of  national  wealth  ;  and  he  took  pains 
to  make  himself  master  of  all  the  information  that  was  obtain- 
able, touching  the  machinery  and  processes  that  had  been  in- 
troduced by  the  manufacturers  of  Great  Britain,  with  a  view 
to  their  introduction  into  the  United  States.  It  was  while  full 
of  these  plans  that  he  met  Mr.  Appleton  at  Edinburgh,  as 
already  stated.  Mr.  Appleton  entered  readily  into  his 
designs,  urged  him  to  go  on  with  them,  and  promised  coopera- 
tion. 

In  1813,  Lowell  returned  to  Boston,  with  a  fixed  idea  that 
the  Cotton  Manufacture,  then  monopolized  by  Great  Britain, 
could  be  successfully  introduced  here.  He  saw  and  admitted 
that  the  advantages  of  cheap  labor,  abundant  capital,  superior 
skill,  and  established  reputation,  were  all  on  the  side  of  the 
English.  But  the  raw  cotton  could  be  procured  cheaper  here  ; 
water-power  was  more  abundant  than  in  England  ;  and  he 
thought  that  the  superior  intelligence  and  enterprise  of  the 
American  population  would  ensure  the  success  of  the  Cotton 
Manufacture  in  these  States,  in  spite  of  the  competition  of  all 
Europe. 

Mr.  Lowell  communicated  these  ideas  to  hi^  brother-in-law 
and  fellow-townsman,  Patrick  Tracy  Jackson*,, whose  business 
had  been  suspended  by  the  war  then  flagrant  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States.  Jackson  eagerly  enlisted  in  the 
enterprise,  and  was  not  discouraged  by  difficulties  which  would 
have  thwarted  a  less  resolute  man.  The  result  was,  the  incor- 
poration of  Messrs.  Lowell,  Jackson,  Appleton  and  others  as 
the  Boston  Manufacturing  Company,  with  a  capital  of  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  followed  by  the  purchase  of  water- 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  39 

power  at  Waltham,  and  the   successful  starting  of  the  power- 
loom  in  1811:/-'' 

The  Waltham  power-loom,  in  so  far  as  it  differed  from  the 
power-loom  previously  introduced  in  Great  Britain,  was  the 
sole  product  of  Mr.  Lowell's  genius ;  and  his  success  is  the 
more  remarkable  from  the  fact  that  he  had  no  model  to  go  by, 
but  only  his  own  recollections  of  his  observations  in  Europe, 
aided  by  imperfect  drawings,  brought  with  him  on  his  return. 

Being  in  want  of  a  practical  mechanic,  Mr.  Lowell  and  his 
associates  secured  Paul  Moody,  whose  mechanical  skill  was 
well  known,  and  whose  success  fully  justified  the  choice.  Mr. 
Moody  was  born  in  Amesbury  in  1777,  and  had  been  for  some 
time  engaged  in  the  manufacturing  business  in  that  town,  in 
connection  with  Mr.  Ezra  Worthen.  His  aid  was  invaluable 
in  the  starting  of  the  first  mill  at  Waltham,  though  he  did 
not  remove  to  reside  there  till  1814. 

The  original  design  of  jNIessrs,  Lowell  and  Jackson  was  only 
to  start  a  weaving-mill,  and  to  buy  their  yarn  of  others.  Xo 
such  establishment  as  a  mill  where  raw  cotton  was  manufac- 
tured into  finished  cloth,  without  going  through  diiFcrent 
hands,  and  forming  tv.'O  distinct  businesses,  was  then  dreamed 
of.  The  practice  vras  to  run  spinning-mills  and  weaving-mills 
as  separate  establishments.  But  as  soon  as  their  loom  was 
completed,  they  found  it  expedient  to  spin  their  own  yarn, 
rather  than  to  buy  it  of  others.  They  accordingly  fitted  up 
a  mill  with  seventeen  hundred  spindles,  at  AValtham. 

Their  sizing-machine  they  constructed  by  improving  upon 
Horrock's  dressing-machine,  patented  in  England.  Mr.  Lowell 
and  Mr.  Moody  both  had  a  hand  in  the  invention  of  their 
double-speeder  for  spinning.  The  mathematical  scholarship  of 
Mr.  Lowell  was  as  indispensable  to  its  success  as  the  mechan- 

"  The  fir8t  hr(hi(l  povv'or  loom  was  coneti-ucted  and  startcMl  in  1817,  at  Gosh- 
en, Conn.,  by  Lewis  M".  Norton,  who  obtained  the  idea  of  it  from  the  Edinburgh 
Encyclopoedia,  Mr.  Norton,  however,  realized  poor  success  in  the  manufacture 
of  broadcloth.  Sec  his  Letter  to  Samuel  Lawrence,  Lowell  Courirr,  April  22, 
1843. 


40  HISTOKY    OF    LOWELL. 

ical  ingenuity  of  Mr.  Moody.  The  peculiar  invention  of  Mr. 
Moody  was  the  filling-throstle.  The  machines  invented  or 
improved  by  these  ingenious  men  were  substantially  the  same 
as  those  now  in  use,  though  subsequent  inventions  have  still 
further  improved  and  perfected  them. 

The  enterprise  proved  a  splendid  success  ;  the  capital  stock 
of  the  Company  was  increased,  first  to  four  hundred  thousand, 
and  afterward  to  six  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  the  busi- 
ness extended  as  far  as  the  water-power  of  Waltham  and  Water- 
town  would  permit.  The  original  suggestion  and  most  of  the 
chief  plans  were  made  by  Mr.  Lowell,  who  was  the  informing 
soul  of  the  whole  proceeding ;  and  when  the  enterprise  was 
fairly  started,  the  general  management  of  it  was  committed  to 
Mr.  Jackson. 

While  cotton  cloth  was  selling  at  thirty-three  cents  per 
yard,  Mr.  Lowell,  fired  with  the  presentiment  of  what  his 
plans  would  accomplish,  predicted  to  a  friend,  that  "  within 
fifty  years,  cotton  cloth  would  be  sold  for  four-pence  a  yard." 
The  prediction  was  called  "  visionary  "  then  ;  but  it  has  long 
since  been  realized.  Our  far-sighted  adventurers  were  fre- 
quently advised,  by  meddlesome  outsiders  and  gossiping  Mrs. 
Grundys,  that  they  would  soon  overdo  their  new  business.  No 
sooner  did  one  mill  send  forth  its  cloth,  than  all  .agreed  that  it 
would  be  the  last.  The  markets  would  be  glutted.  Goods 
would  lie  by,  and  rot  in  the  warehouses.  Bankruptcy,  ruin, 
pauperism,  would  ensue.  But  our  adventurers  kept  right  on, 
l^aying  no  attention  to  the  Mrs.  Grundj^s.  True,-  they  saw 
not  all  the  future,  nor  "half  the  wonders  that  would  be;" 
but  thej^  remained  firm  in  the  conviction  that  by  improved  ma- 
chinery they  could  compete  successfully  with  England  in  all 
the  markets  of  the  globe  ;  and  experience  has  proved  that  this 
conviction  was  not  without  foundation. 

The  peace  of  1815  proved  ruinous  to  many  of  our  manufac- 
turers, whose  business  had  been  greatly  inflated  by  the  war. 
In  1816,  a  new  tariff  was  to  be  made;  and  Mr.  Lowell  visited 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  41 

Washington,  to  impress  upon  members  of  Congress  the  impor- 
tance, the  prospects  and  the  dangers  of  the  Cotton  INIanufac- 
ture,  and  the  policy  of  shielding  it  from  foreign  competition 
by  legislative  protection.  Constitutional  objections  have  often, 
in  more  recent  times,  been  urged  against  the  protective  system. 
No  objection  of  this  kind  was  then  heard  of.  The  New  Eng- 
land States  were  too  exclusively  engaged  in  commerce  to  listen 
to  him  ;  but  the  Middle  States  favored  the  new  plan.  The 
States  of  the  West  were  divided  ;  the  South,  as  usual,  held  the 
balance  of  power ;  and  Mr.  Lowell's  appeal  to  the  interests  of 
the  Southern  planters  prevailed.  The  famous  minimum  duty 
of  6 1  cents  per  square  yard  on  imported  cotton  fabrics  was 
proposed  by  Mr.  Lowell,  recommended  by  ^Ir.  Lowndes,  advo- 
cated by  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  incorporated  into  the  tariff  of  1816. 

In  this  way,  American  Manufactures  were  protected  from 
British  competition,  and  nursed  into  a  vigorous  life.  It  is  to 
this  provision  of  law,  says  Mr.  Everett,  that  "  New  England 
owes  that  branch  of  industry  which  has  made  her  amends  for 
the  diminution  of  her  foreign  trade  ;  which  has  kept  her  pros- 
perous under  the  exhausting  drain  of  her  population  to  the 
AVest ;  which  has  brought  a  market  for  his  agricultural  pro- 
duce to  the  farmer's  door ;  and  which,  while  it  has  conferred 
these  blessings  on  this  part  of  the  country,  has  been  produc- 
tive of  good,  and  nothing  but  good,  to  every  portion  of  it" 

The  whole  credit  of  this  policy  is  due  to  Mr.  Lowell.  But 
he  did  not  live  to  witness  the  realization  of  his  plans.  "  Man 
proposes,  but  God  disposes."  He  died  in  Boston,  September 
2d,  1817,  at  the  age  of  forty-three;  and  committed  to  others 
the  completion  of  his  vast  designs.  Like  his  •brother,  the  em- 
inent lawyer,  he  shunned  public  office ;  but  he  contributed 
more  than  a  thousand  of  the  common  herd  of  hum-drum  states- 
men to  the  advancement  of  national  industry  and  well-being. 
As  Mr.  Everett  eloquently  says:  "In  the  great  Temple  of 
Nature, — whose  foundations  are  the  earth, — whose  pillars  are 

the  eternal  hills, — whose  roof  is  the  star-lit  sky, — whose  organ 
40 


42  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

tones  are  the  whispering  breeze  and  the  sounding  storm, — 
whose  architect  is  God, — there  is  no  ministry  more  sacred  than 
that  of  the  intelligent  mechanic. "=■•' 

His  son,  John  Lowell,  was  worthy  of  his  sire.  Wander- 
ing amid  the  ruins  of  Thebes,  and  feeling  the  approaches  of 
death,  by  his  last  will,  "penned  with  a  tired  hand  on  the  top 
of  a  palace  of  the  Pharaohs,"  he  made  a  princely  bequest  of 
$240,000  to  found  the  Lowell  Institute  at  Boston. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

manufacturing    history    OF    LOWELL. 

Purchase  of  Pawtucket  Canal — First  Visit— Merrimack  Company— Reconstruc- 
tion of  the  Canal— Kirk  Boott— Ezra  Worthen — Paul  Moody— Warren  Col- 
burn — Calico  Printing — John  D,  Prince — Management  of  the  Merrimack 
Company — Re-organization  of  the  Locks  and  Canals  Company— James  B. 
Francis  —  Hamilton  Company  —  Samuel  Batchelder  —  Management  of  the 
Hamilton  — Appleton  Company  —  Lowell  Company  — Proposed  Reform  in 
Sales — Middlesex  Company — Ruin  and  Re-oi-ganization — Suffolk  Company 
— Tremont— Lawrence — Bleachery — Boott  Company — Belvidere  Company — 
Perez  O.  Richmond— Massachusetts  Comjiauy— Dismissal  of  Operatives- 
Men  of  whom  more  might  have  been  made— Whitney  Mills— Machine  Shop 
— Prescott  Company — Miscellaneous  Manufacturers  and  Mechanics — In- 
creased Productivitj'  in  the  Future. 

In  1821,  Messrs.  Appleton  and  Jaetson,  elated  with  the 
splendid  success  of  their  establishment  at  Waltham,  were  look- 
ing about  for  water-power  for  operations  on  a  more  gigantic 
scale.  In  September,  1821,  they  examined  the  water-fall  at 
Souhegan,  but  found  it  insufficient.  In  returning,  they  passed 
the  Nashua  Eiver,  but  they  were  not  aware  of  the  existence  of 
the  fall   which   the   Nashua  Company  have  since  improved ; 

*  See  Edward  Everett's  Memoir  of  John  Lowell;  Robert  C.  Winthrop's 
Memoir  of  Nathan  Appleton  ;  John  A.  Lowell's  Memoir  of  Patrick  T.  Jackson; 
Nathan  Appleton's  Introduction  of  the  Power-Loom  and  Origin  of  Lowell,  etc. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  43 

neither  were  they  aware  of  the  existence  of  the  water-power 
of  the  Pawtucket  Canal.  Shortly  afterwards,  Mr.  Moody, 
while  on  a  visit  to  Amesbury,  mentioned  to  Ezra  Worthen 
that  the  company  at  Waltham  were  in  quest  of  water-power. 
Mr.  Worthen  had  been  familiar  with  Pawtucket  Falls  from  his 
boyhood,  and  very  naturally  replied,  "Why  don't  they  buy  up 
Pawtucket  Canal  ?  That  will  give  them  all  the  power  of  Mer- 
rimack Ptiver.  They  can  put  up  as  many  mills  as  they  please 
there,  and  never  want  for  water." 

On  returning  to  W^altham,  Mr.  Moody  went  out  of  his  way 
to  look  at  the  canal,  and  Mr.  Worthen  accompanied  him.  Ar- 
riving at  Waltham,  they  related  to  Mr.  Jackson  a  description 
of  the  place,  and  Mr.  Worthen  chalked  out  upon  the  floor  a 
map  of  Merrimack  River,  including  both  Pawtucket  Falls  and 
the  Canal.  Mr.  Jackson  listened  eagerly  to  their  story,  and  was 
soon  convinced  that  a  large  manufacturing  town  could  here  be 
built  up.  The  great  idea  of  possessing  himself  of  the  whole 
l^ower  of  Merrimack  River  filled  his  mind ;  and  with  charac- 
teristic sagacity,  he  at  once  put  himself  in  communication  with 
Thomas  M.  Clark,  of  Newbury  port,  the  Agent  of  the  Pawtucket 
Canal  Company,  and  secured  the  refusal  of  most  of  the  shares 
of  the  stock  of  that  Company  at  less  than  par. 

Mr.  Appleton  and  Kirk  Boott  entered  eagerly  into  the  en- 
terprise with  Mr.  Jackson,  and,  through  the  agency  of  Mr. 
Clark  and  others,  all  the  stock  of  the  Canal  Company  was 
purchased,  and  some  of  the  lands  needed  for  using  the  water- 
power.  But  the  wisest  men  cannot  foresee  everything.  Four 
farms,  containing  about  four  hundred  acres,  covering  what  is 
now  the  most  densely  peopled  portion  of  Lowell,  were  bought 
at  from  one  to  two  hundred  dollars  per  acre  ;  and  most  of  the 
lands  thus  purchased  were  afterward  sold  at  from  twelve  cents 
to  a  dollar  per  foot.  But  there  was  a  great  deal  more  land 
which  the  founders  of  Lowell  then  overlooked ;  and  when 
these  lands  were  wanted,  the  proprietors  were  shrewd  enough 
to  fix  their  own  prices,  and  at  a  pretty  high  figure  too. 


44  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

The  value  of  land  was  of  course  suddenly  largely  enhanced. 
Tor  example : — Nine  undivided  tenths  of  the  Moses  Cheever 
farm  were  bought  in  1821  for  eighteen  hundred  dollars;  and 
the  owner  of  the  other  one-tenth  had  agreed  to  convey  the  same 
for  two  hundred  dollars.  Before  he  had  conveyed  it,  however, 
he  died,  suddenly,  insolvent ;  and  the  one-tenth  was  sold  by 
order  of  court.  But  such  had  been  the  increase  in  its  value, 
that  the  Lochs  and  Canals  Company  paid  upward  of  three 
thousand  dollars  for  seven  and  a  half-tenths  of  it ;  and  the  re- 
maining two  and  a  half -tenths  were  sold,  one  year  afterward, 
for  upward  of  five  thousand  dollars.  •••= 

In  November,  1821,  Nathan  Appleton,  Patrick  T.  Jackson, 
Kirk  Boott,  Warren  Button,  Paul  Moody,  and  John  W.  Boott, 
made  a  visit  to  the  canal,  perambulated  the  ground,  and  scan- 
ned the  capabilities  of  the  place  ;  and  the  remark  was  made 
that  some  of  them  might  live  to  see  the  place  contain  twenty 
thousand  inhabitants.  Nathan  Appleton  did,  indeed,  live  to 
see  it  contain  nearly  forty  thousand.  Here,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Boston,  was  a  river,  with  a  water-shed  of  four  thousand 
square  miles,  delivering  its  volume  of  water  over  a  fall  of 
thirty  feet.  Evidently,  the  Manchester  of  America  was  to  be 
here. 

On  the  fifth  of  February,  1822,  these  gentlemen  and  others 
were  incorporated  as  the  Merrimack  Manufacturing  Company, 
with  Warren  Button  as  President.  Their  capital,  at  first,  was 
$000,000 ;  but  this  capital  has  been  four  times  increased,  and 
is  now  $2,500,000.  The  first  business  of  the  new  company 
was  to  erect  the  dam  across  the  Merrimack  at  Pawtucket  Falls, 
widen  and  deepen  Pawtucket  Canal,  renew  the  locks,  and  open 
a  lateral  canal  from  the  main  canal  to  the  river,  on  the  margin 
of  which  their  mills  were  to  stand.  Five  hundred  men  were 
employed  in  digging  and  blasting,  and  six  thousand  pounds  of 
powder  were  used.     The  canal,  as  reconstructed,  is  sixty  feet 

*  Miles's  Lowell  as  it  AVas  and  as  it  Is, 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  45 

wide,  and  eight  feet  deep,  and  caj3able  of  supplying  fifty  mills. 
It  lias  three  sets  of  locks. 

In  deepening  this  canal,  ledges  were  uncovered,  which 
showed  indisputable  marks  of  the  attrition  of  water.  Many 
cavities  were  found  in  the  ledge,  such  as  are  usual  where  there 
are  water-falls,  worn  by  stones  kept  in  motion  by  the  water. 
Some  of  these  cavities  measured  a  foot  or  more  in  diameter, 
and  two  feet  in  depth.  Here  had  once  been  the  channel  of  the 
Merrimack. 

The  first  mill  of  the  company  was  completed,  and  the  first 
wheel  started,  September  1st,  1823.  The  first  return  of  cloth 
was  made  in  the  following  November.  The  bricks  used  in 
building  the  mills  of  this  and  the  succeeding  manufacturing 
corporations,  were  boated  chiefly  from  Bedford  and  jMerrimack, 
in  New  Hampshire. 

The  first  Treasurer  and  Agent  was  Kirk  Boott.  He  was 
born  in  Boston  in  1791,  and  received  an  academic  education 
at  the  famous  Bugby  School  in  England.  He  entered  Harvard 
College,  but  never  graduated.  His  tastes  being  military,  a 
commission  was  purchased  for  him  ;  and  he  served  five  years 
as  an  officer  in  the  British  Army.  He  fought  under  AVelling- 
ton  in  the  Peninsular  War,  and  commanded  a  detachment  of 
troops  at  the  siege  of  San  Sebastian,  in  1813.  His  courage 
was  perfectly  bullet-proof.  When  the  wars  of  Napoleon  ended 
with  his  captivity  at  St.  Helena,  Boott  resigned  his  commis- 
sion, and,  in  1817,  returned  to  Boston.  Through  the  intimacy 
that  arose  between  him  and  Mr.  Jackson,  while  the  latter  was 
agent  of  the  mills  at  Waltham,  he  was  employed  as  the  com- 
pan3''s  agent.  He  established  himself  here  in  the  spring  of 
1822,  took  charge  of  the  mills,  and  infused  into  the  whole 
i:)lace  much  of  his  own  determined  spirit  and  unconquerable 
will.  He  became,  by  the  general  consent  of  all,  the  man  of 
the  place,  so  that  for  fifteen  j^ears  the  history  of  Lowell  was 
little  more  than  the  biography  of  Kirk  Boott. 


46  -       HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

Ezra  Wortheu  removed  here  at  the  same  time  with  Mr. 
Boott,  and  his  services  as  superintendent  were  of  inestimable 
value.  Like  Mr.  Lowell,  Mr.  Worthen  was  not  permitted  to 
see  even  "the  beginning  of  the  end  "  of  his  plans.  He  died 
June  18th,  1824. 

Mr.  Moody  also  removed  here  from  Waltham,  in  1823,  and 
took  the  charge  of  the  company's  machine  shop.  This  shop 
was  completed  in  1825,  and  cost  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars.  He  remained  in  this  position  during  a  period  of 
eight  3'ears,  when  his  labors  were  terminated  by  death,  July 
5th,  1831.  Born  and  bred  a  mechanic,  Mr.  Moody  was  none  the 
less  a  gentleman.  Skill  in  mechanism  was  his  forte ;  but  his 
general  capacity  was  large  ;  and  when  he  died,  all  felt  that 
one  of  the  ablest  citizens,  and  one  of  the  most  estimable  men, 
had  fallen. 

The  place  left  vacant  by  Mr.  Worthen,  in  1824,  was  subse- 
quently filled  by  Warren  Colburn,  the  distinguished  author  of 
a  series  of  popular  school-books  on  Arithmetic.  Mr.  Colburn 
was  born  in  Dedham  in  1793,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  Uni- 
versity in  1820,  at  the  ripe  age  of  twenty-seven  years.  He 
was  distinguished  while  at  college  for  his  assiduous  devotion 
to  the  mathematics.  After  graduating,  he  engaged  as  a  school- 
teacher in  Boston,  and  while  thus  employed  prepared  those 
works  on  Arithmetic  which  have  forever  intimately  associated 
his  name  with  that  science.  Prior  to  Mr.  Worthen's  decea,se, 
Mr.  Colburn  had  acquired  some  experience  in  charge  of  the 
mills  at  Waltham.  His  abilities  were  such  as  amply  enabled  him 
to  fill  Mr.  Worthen's  place.  "  He  readily  perceived  and  appre- 
ciated the  peculiar  character  of  a  manufacturing  community  in 
New  England,  and  projected  at  once  a  scheme  of  lecturing, 
adapted  to  popular  improvement:" ^'•^  He  actually  delivered  in 
Lowell  several  courses  of  the  best  Lyceum  Lectures,  several 
years  before  any  popular  Lyceums  were  organized  at  all.     He 

*  See  Edson's  excellent  Memoir  of  Warren  Colburn,  in  Barnard's  American. 
Journal  of  Education,  September,  1856. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  47 

died  September  13th,  1833.  Thougli  he  filled  no  higher  offi- 
ces than  those  of  factory  superintendent,  church  warden, 
school  committee,  college  committee,  Ijceum  lecturer  and  writer 
of  school-books,  Mr.  Colburn  was  nevertheless  one  of  the  great 
men  of  America.  Here  he  will  be  especially  remembered  for 
his  efforts,  in  connection  with  Rev.  Dr.  Edson,  to  build  up, 
upon  a  permanent  basis,  that  complete  system  of  public  schools, 
which  is  the  pride  of  the  place. 

The  successors  of  Mr.  Colburn  as  Superintendents  of  the 
Merrimack  Mills  have  been,  from  1833  to  1848,  John  Clark  ; 
in  1848,  Emory  Washburn,  afterward  Governor  of  the  Com- 
monwealth ;  in  1849,  Edmund  Le  Breton ;  from  1850  to  1866, 
Isaac  Hinckley,  who  was  succeeded  by  John  C.  Palfrey. 

The  founders  of  the  Merrrimack  Company  had  from  the 
first  contemplated  the  introduction  of  calico-printing.  "  I  was 
of  opinion,"  says  Appleton,  "  that  the  time  had  arrived,  when 
the  manufacture  and  printing  of  calicos  might  be  successfully 
introduced  into  this  country. "=•■=  And  although  calicos  were 
probably  printed  at  Taunton  and  Dover  before  they  were  at 
Lowell,  the  attempt  was  first  begun  here,  under  Allan  Pol- 
lock. The  printing  business,  however,  was  not  perfected  to 
any  considerable  degree  until  1826,  when  the  late  John  D. 
Prince,  senior,  resigned  his  position  at  Manchester  in  Eng- 
land to  take  the  Superintendency  of  the  Merrimack  Print 
AVorks.  Here  he  remained  till  1855,  when  Henry  W.  Bur- 
rows succeeded  him.  The  skill  of  Mr.  Prince,  assisted  by  Dr. 
Samuel  L.  Dana  as  chemist,  won  for  the  Merrimack  Prints  an 
unec{ualled  renown  in  all  parts  of  the  globe.  On  his  retire- 
ment, the  Company  gave  him  an  annuity  of  $2,000  per  annum. 
He  did  not,  however,  live  long  to  enjoy  it,  but  died  suddenly, 
January  5th,  1860,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years,  leaving  to  us, 
and  to  the  Lowellians  of  the  future,  the  grateful  memory  of  a 
fine  old  English  gentlemen, — "  one  of  the  real  old  stock," — 

*  Origin  of  Lowell,  p.  17. 


48  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

wlio  dispensed  to  his  friends  a  baronial  hospitality,  and  to  the 
poor  a  charity  that  was  as  liberal  as  his  own  resources. 

The  Merrimack  Company  have  divided  upon  an  average  a 
dividend  of  thirteen  per  cent,  on  their  stock.  For  many  years, 
fabrics  bearing  their  imperial  name  have  commanded  a  cent 
a  yard  more  than  the  fabrics  of  other  companies  equal  in  cost 
and  equal  in  intrinsic  quality.  Such  a  result  can  only  be  as- 
cribed to  the  consummate  ability  of  the  Company's  managers. 
Voltaire  said,  he  knew  many  merchants  in  Amsterdam,  of  more 
penetration  and  administrative  ability  than  Ximenes,  Mazarin 
or  Richelieu.  So  may  we  say,  that  the  men  whose  sagacity 
achieved  such  remarkable  success  in  the  business  of  manufac- 
turing, were  men  of  far  higher  calibre  than  those  who  have 
generally  presided  over  the  Executive  Departments  at  Wash- 
ington. 

During  the  late  War,  however,  the  Merrimack  Company 
showed  great  "  lack  of  sagacity  and  forethought  "^ — in  stopping 
their  mills  —  in  dismissing  their  operatives  —  in  discontinuing 
the  purchase  of  cotton  —  and  in  selling  their  fabrics  at  a  slight 
advance  on  their  peace  prices,  and  at  less  than  the  actual  cost 
of  similar  fabrics  at  the  time  of  sale.  Had  they  not  committed 
this  stupendous  blunder,  they  might  have  realized  many  mil- 
lions of  dollars  during  the  War.  But  instead  of  boldly  run- 
ning, as  companies  elsewhere  did,  they  took  counsel  of  their 
fears,  and  their  spacious  mills  stood  on  the  bank 

"As  idle  as  a  painted  ship  upon  a  painted  ocoan." 

The  blunders  of  this  company  were  naturally  copied  by 
others — the  younger  companies  being  accustomed  to  "  dress  "  on 
the  Merrimack.  In  this  instance,  the  blunders  of  the  older 
company  were  not  only  copied,  but  exaggerated  and  intensified 
to  a  fatal  degree.  The  other  cotton  companies  actually  sold 
out  their  cotton,  and  several  of  them  made  abortive  experiments 
in  other  branches  of  manufactures,  by  which  they  incurred 

*  Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  Proprietors,  1803. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  49 

losses,  direct  and  indirect,  exceeding  the  amount  of  their  en- 
tire capital.  It  is  but  fair  to  add,  that  most  of  these  abortive 
experiments  were  made  in  opposition  to  the  judgment  of  the 
local  agents. 

The  ^lerrimack  have  five  mills  and  print  works,  with  100,- 
000  spindles,  and  2,450  looms.  When  all  are  in  operation, 
they  employ  1,700  females  and  700  males.  Their  weekly  con- 
sumption of  cotton  is  80,000  pounds,  and  their  return  of 
cloth  450,000  yards.  They  print  500,000  yards  per  week  of 
Prints,  No.  30  to  37,  and  Chintzes. 

In  1825,  the  old  Locks  and  Canals  Company  of  1792  was 
reestablished  as  a  separate  corporation.  The  Merrimack  Com- 
pany, at  the  time  of  their  incorporation,  owned  the  original 
charter  of  the  Locks  and  Canals  Company,  the  entire  water- 
power  of  Merrimack  Eiver,  and  the  lands  abutting  thereon. 
The  Proprietors  of  the  Locks  and  Canals  were  now  reorganized, 
with  an  amendment  to  their  charter,  allowing  them  to  purchase, 
hold,  sell  or  lease  land  and  water-power,  to  the  amount  of 
$600,000.  The  Merrimack  Company  conveyed  to  the  Locks 
and  Canals  Company  all  their  water-power  and  all  their  lands  ; 
and  then  so  much  of  it  as  was  required  for  their  own  purposes, 
was  reconveyed  to  the  Merrimack  Company.  By  this  arrange- 
ment, the  Merrimack  Company  was  placed  upon  the  same  basis 
as  other  manufacturing  companies  more  recently  established. 
The  Locks  and  Canals  Company  had  other  objects  to  pur- 
sue. The  affairs  of  this  company,  in  addition  to  those  of  the 
Merrimack,  were  placed  in  the  master  hand  of  Kirk  Boott.  On 
the  death  of  Mr.  Boott,  in  1837,  Joseph  Tilden  became  Agent 
for  one  year,  when  Patrick  T.  Jackson  succeeded  him.  Mr. 
Jackson  was  succeeded  for  a  short  time  by  "William  Boott.  In 
1845,  James  B.  Francis  was  appointed  Agent,  and  in  this  posi- 
tion, which  he  has  ever  since  retained,  he  has  earned  the  dis- 
tinction of  the  best  water-engineer  in  the  United  States.  He 
had  been  eleven  years  engineer  of  this  company,  when  the  duties 
of  Agent  were  superadded  to  his  duties  as  engineer.  At  first, 
5 


50  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

he  was  associated  with  that  excellent   engineer,  George  W. 
Whistler,  father  of  James  Whistler,  the  gifted  artist. 

For  twenty  years,  the  business  of  this  company  was,  to  fur- 
nish land  and  water-power,  and  build  mills  and  machinery  for 
the  various  manufacturing  companies  successively  organized  in 
Lowell.  After  all  the  mill-powers  were  disposed  of,  another  re- 
organization took  place.  The  standard  adopted  for  a  mill-power 
was  the  power  required  to  run  the  second  mill  built  at  Waltham, 
which  contained  3584  spindles, — or  the  right  to  draw  twenty- 
five  cubic  feet  of  water  per  second,  on  a  fall  of  thirty  feet,  be- 
ing about  sixty  horse  power.  '-'••=  This  company  have  never  en- 
gaged in  manufacturing  operations.  They  kept  in  operation 
two  machine  shops,  a  foundry,  and  a  saw-mill,  until  1845, 
when  the  Lowell  Machine  Shop  was  incorporated  to  take 
the  charge  of  this  business.  They  constructed  all  the  mill-canals 
to  supply  the  various  companies  with  water-power,  and  erected 
most  of  the  mills,  and  the  boarding-houses  attached  to  them, 
together  with  most  of  the  machinery  which  they  severally  con- 
tain. They  employed  constantly  from  five  to  twelve  hundred 
men,  and  built  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  worth 
of  machinery  per  annum.  The  stock  was  long  the  best  of  which 
Lowell  could  boast,  being  worth  thrice,  and  even  four  times  its 
par  value.  Their  present  business  is  to  superintend  the  use 
of  the  water-power,  which  is  leased  by  them  to  the  several  com- 
panies. Their  stock  is  held  by  these  companies  in  the  same 
proportion  in  which  they  hold  the  water-power. 

The  first  sale  of  water-power  was  to  the  Hamilton  Manufac- 
turing Company,  incorporated  in  1825,  with  a  capital  of  $600,- 
000,  afterward  increased  to  $1,200,000.  The  first  Agent  of 
this  Company  was  Samuel  Batchelder.  It  was  under  his  skill- 
ful management  that  the  power-loom  was  here  first  applied  to 
twilled  and  fancy  goods,  and  that  cotton  drills  were  first  man- 
ufactured. Mr.  Batchelder  was  born  at  Jafi"rey,  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, in  1784,  five  years  before  the  first  cotton  mill  was  started 

«  Appleton's  Origin  of  Lowell,  p.  28. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  51 

in  America.  He  assisted  in  starting  one  of  the  first  cotton 
mills  in  his  native  State,  in  1807.  On  quitting  the  Hamilton, 
he  assisted  in  establishing  the  York  Mills  at  Saco,  Maine,  of 
which  he  has  been  for  many  years  Treasurer,  as  well  as  of  the 
Everett  Mills  at  Lawrence.  With  his  remarkable  business 
habits,  he  has  always  combined  the  love  of  books ;  and  his 
work  on  the  Cotton  Manufacture  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
contributions  yet  made  to  the  literature  of  that  prolific  theme. 
Mr.  Batchelder  was  followed  in  the  Agency  of  the  Hamilton,  in 
1831,  by  the  late  John  Avery,  to  whom  in  1864  Oliver  H. 
Moulton  succeeded. 

Following  the  example  of  the  Merrimack,  the  Hamilton 
Company  established  Print  Works,  of  which  the  late  William 
Spencer  was  Superintendent  till  his  death,  September  27th, 
1862.  William  Hunter  was  then  appointed  Superintendent, 
and  to  him  in  1863  succeeded  William  Harley. 

The  management  of  the  Hamilton  during  the  War  was  par- 
ticularly unfortunate.  N^ot  only  were  the  mistakes  of  the 
Merrimack  repeated  here;  but — what  was  worse — when  the 
War  was  drawing  to  a  close,  the  Hamilton  threw  out  a  large 
portion  of  their  cotton  machinery,  and  put  in  a  lot  with  which 
to  manufacture  woollen  goods,  an;!  purchased  a  large  stock  of 
fine  wool,  paying  for  tlfis  machinery  and  wool  the  ruinous 
prices  which  the  War  had  entailed.  Thus,  they  superadded  to 
their  losses  by  the  War,  a  new  category  of  losses  caused  by 
the  collapse  of  prices  on  the  return  of  peace. 

The  Hamilton  have  five  mills  and  print  works,  with  51,268 
spindles  and  1,348  loom3,  requiring  the  labor  of  850  females 
and  425  males.  Their  weekly  consumption  of  cotton  is  50,000 
pounds,  and  of  clean  wool  10,000.  Their  weekly  product  is 
236,000  yards  of  Delaines,  Flannels,  Prints,  Ticks,  Sheetings, 
and  Shirtings,  No.  10  to  No.  53.  The  number  of  yards  printed 
per  week  is  120,000,  and  the  number  dyed  is  6,000. 

In  182S,  the  Appleton  Company  was  incorporated, 
with  a  capital  of  §600.000.     John   Avery  was  their  Agent 


52  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

till  1831,  wlien  George  Motley  succeeded  him.  It  was  in  the 
mills  of  this  company  that  Uriah  A.  Boyden's  famous  turbine 
water-wheels  were  first  used  with'  success.'-'^  Though  the  man- 
agers of  the  Appleton,  during  the  late  War,  shared,  for  a  time, 
the  delusion  that  the  country  would  have  "peace  in  sixty 
days,"  and  under  that  delusion  sold  their  cotton,  and  allowed 
their  mills  to  stand  idle,  they  acquired,  quicker  than  many 
others,  a  true  view  of  the  national  situation  ;  and  the  manage- 
ment of  this  company,  when  tested  by  its  results  during  a  pe- 
riod of  nearly  forty  years,  must  be  pronounced  successful  in 
an  eminent  degree. 

The  Appleton  have  three  mills,  with  20,608  spindles,  and 
717  looms.  They  employ,  when  running  to  their  full  capacity, 
400  females  and  120  males.  Their  weekly  consumption  of 
cotton  is  50,000  pounds,  and  their  weekly  return  of  cloth  is 
130,000  yards  of  Sheetings  and  Shirtings,  Nos.  14  and  20. 

In  1828,  the  Lowell  Manufacturing  Company  was  incorpo- 
rated, with  a  capital  of  $900,000,  since  increased  to  $2,000,- 
000.  In  starting  their  jacquard  looms  they  employed  Clau- 
dius Wilson,  one  of  the  most  ingenious  and  useful  mechanics 
that  has  ever  appeared  in  Lowell,  who  emigrated  from  Scot- 
land to  enter  this  company's. service.  This  company's  mills 
were  the  first  in  the  world  where  powder-looms  were  introduced 
for  weaving  woollen  carpets.  These  looms  were  invented  by 
E.  B.  Bigelov\r,  and  rank  among  the  most  wonderful  triumphs 
of  mechanical  genius  the  world  has  ever  witnessed.  Alexander 
Wright  was  Agent  of  this  Company  till  his  death  in  1852, 
when  Samuel  Fay  succeeded  him. 

In  1859,  a  discussion  arose  among  the  stockholders  touch- 
ing" the  mode  of  selling  their  products.  An  attempt  was  made 
to  make  the  selling  agents  personally  interested  in  augmenting 
their  sales,  and  enhancing  the   income  from   the   company's 


*  Frands'  Lowell  Hydraulic  Experiraems 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  53 

stock. =■•'=     This  change  has  been  successfully  made  by  the  Mid- 
dlesex, but  has  not  yet  been  adopted  by  the  Lowell. 

The  Lowell  have  one  carpet  mill,  one  worsted  mill,  and  one 
cotton  mill.  The  number  of  spindles  run  is  12,500  on  worsted 
and  wool,  and  2,816  on  cotton.  They  employ  1,000  females 
and  450  males,  and  consume  4,000  pounds  of  cotton,  and  63,- 
000  of  clean  wool,  per  week.  Their  productive  power  is  35,- 
000  yards  of  Carpets,  13,000  of  Sheetings,  and  4,500  of 
Stuffed  Goods,  per  week.  They  have  432  looms,  of  which 
258  weave  Carpets,  124  Cottons,  and  50  Stuffed  Goods. 

In  1830,  Samuel  Lawrence,  William  W.  Stone,  and  others 
were  incorporated  as  the  Middlesex  Company,  with  a  capital 
of  $500,000,— afterward  increased  to  $1,000,000,  but  subse- 
quently reduced  to  $750,000, — and  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  broadcloths,  cassimeres,  etc.  James  Cook  was  the 
Agent  of  this  Company's  mills  for  fifteen  years.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  1845,  by  Nelson  Palmer, — in  1846,  by  Samuel 
Lawrence, — and  in  1848,  by  Oliver  H.  Perry,  who  retained 
the  Agency  for  three  years.  In  1851,  William  T.  Mann  be- 
came Agent,  but  was  succeeded,  in  1852,  by  Joshua  Hum- 
phrey, who  remained  in  charge  six  years.  In  January,  1858, 
James  Cook  was  recalled.  Nine  months  later,  Oliver  H.  Perry 
was  recalled. 

The  mismanagement  of  the  Middlesex  Company's  affairs 
during  many  years  was  astonishing.  The  entire  capital  of  the 
Company  was  lost  through  the  mistakes  and  irregularities  of 
Samuel  Lawrence,  William  W.  Stone  and  their  associates.  In 
1858,  the  Company  was  reorganized,  with  new  managers  and  a 
new  subscription  of  stock.  Five  hundred  shares,  of  the  par 
value  of  one  hundred  dollars  each,  formed  the  capital  with 
which  the  Middlesex  Company  took  their  "  new  departure  "  in 


*  Report  of  Dr.  Ayer,  Peter  Lawson  and  H.  J.  Adams,  the  Committee  of 
the  Proprietors,  1859. 

50 


54  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

the  voyage  of  life.=-'''  This  capital  has  since  been  increased  to 
$750,000. 

Until  now,  all  our  manufacturing  companies  had  sold  their 
products  through  commission-houses  in  Boston  and  New  York, 
whose  compensation  was  determined  by  the  gross  amount  of 
sales — not  by  the  amount  of  profits.  The  wisdom  of  this  pol- 
icy had  been  often  questioned  by  sagacious  stockholders,  with- 
out, however,  leading  to  any  change.  The  Middlesex  Com- 
pany now  adopted  a  diiferent  mode  of  selling  their  products, 
making  their  sales  through  their  Treasurer,  whose  com- 
pensation depended  mainly  upon  the  profits  realized  by  the 
Company.  By  this  arrangement,  the  business  of  selling  was 
kept  directly  under  the  Company's  control,  and  the  interests  of 
the  selling  agent  made  identical  with  those  of  the  Company. 
Since  their  reorganization,  they  have  been  remarkably  success- 
ful,— their  per  centage  of  profits  exceeding  those  of  any  other 
company  in  Lowell. 

The  Middlesex  have  three  mills  and  dye-houses,  with  fifty 
sets  of  cards,  consuming  25,000  pounds  of  wool  per  week. 
They  run  16,400  spindles,  240  broad  and  22  narrow  looms. 
They  employ  452  males  and  320  females,  producing  Broad- 
cloths, Doeskins,  Cassimeres  and  Shawls. 

The  Suffolk  Manufacturing  Company  was  incorporated  in 
1831,  with  $600,000  capital.  Kobert  Means  was  their  Agent 
until  1842,  when  John  AVright  succeeded  him.  They  have 
two  mills. 

An  ill-advised  experiment  in  the  manufacture  of  cassimeres 
was  made  by  the  Suffolk,  during  the  War,  but  it  aborted,  leav- 
ing them  depleted  of  their  capital.  When  in  full  operation, 
they  run  21,482  spindles,  and  815  looms, — employ  410  females 
and  205  males, — consume  30,000  pounds  of  cotton  per  week, 

*Dr.  Ayer  and  Gren.  Butler  bought  largely  of  this  stock,  and  their  invest- 
ments yielded  them  splendid  returns.  Those  who  think  Gen.  Butler's  for- 
tune was  derived  solely  from  the  plunder  of  Louisiana  and  Virginia,  should  look 
Into  the  Company's  books,  and  learn  their  mistake. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  55 

— and  make  125,000  yards,  per  week,  of  Corset  Jeans,  Sheetings, 
and  Shirtings,  Nos.  14  to  22. 

The  Proprietors  of  the  Tremont  Mills  were  ^incorporated  in 
1831.  Their  capital  is  $600,000,  and  they  have  two  mills. 
Their  Agents  have  been,  from  1831  to  1834,  Israel  Whitney ; 
from  1834  to  1837,  John  Aiken  ;  from  1837  to  1859,  Charles 
L.  Tilden;  and  since  1859,  Charles  F.  Battles. 

The  experiment  in  cassimeres  which  was  made  by  the  Suf- 
folk, was  repeated  by  the  Tremont,  both  having  the  same 
Treasurer — Henry  V.  Ward.  The  same  disasters  followed, 
and  here  too  cassimeres  were  discarded.  The  productive  ca- 
pacity of  the  Tremont  is  about  equal  to  that  of  the  Suffolk, — 
viz :  20,960  spindles,  and  764  looms,  run  by  500  females  and 
120  males.  The  weekly  consumption  of  cotton,  when  in  full 
operation,  is  37,000  pounds,  and  the  weekly  return  of  cloth 
135,000  yards  of  Sheetings  and  Shirtings,  Nos.  14  to  20,  and 
Flannels. 

The  Lawrence  Manufacturing  Company  were  incorporated  in 
1831.  Their  capital  is  $1,500,000  ;  and  they  have  five  mills 
and  dye-houses.  William  Austin  was  their  Agent  till  1837, 
when  John  Aiken  was  transferred  from  the  Tremont  Mills,  In 
1849,  Mr.  Aiken  was  succeeded  by  William  S.  Southworth, 
who  remained  till  1865,  when  William  F.  Salmon  succeeded  him. 

The  Lawrence  had  the  same  Treasurer  during  the  War  as 
the  Suffolk  and  Tremont ;  but  instead  of  experimenting  in  cas- 
simeres, the  Lawrence  engaged  in  hosiery,  incurring,  directly 
and  indirectly,  a  loss  of  half  a  million  dollars.  The  Lawrence 
have  60,432  spindles,  1,564  looms,  and  163  knitting  machines, 
requiring  the  labor  of  1,350  females  and  350  males.  Their 
weekly  consumption  of  cotton,  when  all  their  machinery  is  run- 
ning, is  110,000  pounds,  and  2,000  of  wool.  Their  fabrics 
are  Shirtings,  Sheetings,  Printing  Cloth,  Cotton  and  Merino 
Hosiery. 

In  1831,  the  Suffolk  and  Western  Canals  were  cut,  to  supply 
the  Suffolk,  Tremont  and  Lawrence  with  water-power. 


56  .       •  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

The  Lowell  Bleachery  was  incorporated  in  1832,  witK  a  cap- 
ital of  $50,000,  since  increased  to  $300,000.  Jonathan  Derby 
was  in  charge  the  first  year.  From  1833  to  1835,  Joseph 
Hoyt  was  in  charge.  Then  succeeded  Charles  T.  Appleton, 
who  retained  the  Agency  till  1846,  when  Charles  A.  Babcock 
succeeded  him.  The  present  Agent,  Frank  P.  Appleton,  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Babcock,  in  1853. 

The  Bleachery  establishment  consists  of  four  mills  and  dye- 
houses,  employing  360  males  and  40  females.  They  dye  15,- 
000,000  yards,  and  bleach  8,000,000  yards,  of  cloth  per  annum. 

The  Boott  Cotton  Mills  were  incorporated  in  1835,  with  a 
capital  of  $1,200,000,  and  commenced  operations  in  1836. 
Benjamin  F.  French  had  charge  of  these  mills  till  1845,  when 
Linus  Child  succeeded  him.  In  1862,  William  A.  Burke  was 
transferred  from  the  Machine  Shop  to  succeed  Mr.  Child. 
When  Mr.  Burke  came,  the  stock  of  the  Boott  hdA  fallen  forty 
per  cent,  below  par,  and  was  paying  no  dividends.  Since  then 
an  extensive  policy  of  reconstruction  has  been  pursued ;  the 
stock  has  risen  to  par,  and  has  paid  good  dividends. 

The  Boott  have  five  mills,  with  71,324  spindles  and  1,878 
looms,  employing  1,020  females  and  290  males.  Their  weekly 
consumption  of  cotton  is  100,000  pounds,  and  their  weekly 
return  of  cloth  350,000  yards  of  No.  14  Drillings,  Sheetings, 
Shirtings  and  Printing  Cloth,  No.  30  to  No.  40. 

In  1832,  W.  B.  Park,  of  Boston,  purchased  the  flannel  mill 
near  Wamesit  Falls,  in  Belvidere,  of  John  Nesmith,  who,  as 
we  have  previously  seen,  had  purchased  these  premises  of  Har- 
rison G.  Howe.  Mr.  Park  divided  most  of  the  lands  adjoining 
into  convenient  lots  and  sold  them  at  an  enhanced  price  to  a  num- 
ber of  individual  purchasers.  Without  observing  too  rigid  an 
adherence  to  the  order  of  chronology,  we  will  here  give  the 
remaining  history  of  these  mills.  In  1834,  Eliphalet  Barber, 
Walter  Farnsworth,  and  George  Hill,  of  Boston,  purchased 
these  mills  of  Mr.  Park,  and  carried  on  the  business  until  1851, 
as  the  Belvidere  Flannel  Manufacturing  Company.     They  also 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  57 

extended  their  business  hy  the  purchase  of  the  stone  mill, 
which  had  before  been  owned  by  the  Whitney  Mills.  In 
1851,  Charles  Stott  and  Walter  Farnsworth  bought  out  the 
company's  interest,  and  carried  on  these  mills  on  their  own  ac- 
count ;  but  their  business  was  soon  impeded  by  fire.  The  stone 
mill  was  burned  in  1851,  and  the  old  flannel  mill  in  the  year 
following.  In  1853,  under  the  old  charter  granted  to  W.  B. 
Park  in  1834,  the  Belvidcre  Woollen  Manufacturing  Company 
was  reorganized, — Messrs.  Stott  and  Farnsworth  conveying  one- 
third  of  their  interest  to  the  new  company.  The  large  brick 
mill,  at  Wamesit  Falls,  was  built  the  same  year.  Another 
large  mill  at  Whipple's  Mills  was  built  in  1862.  The  capital 
of  this  company — originally  only  $50,000 — is  now  $200,000. 
Charles  Stott  has  been  Agent  since  1835. 

It  was  in  1836  that  Perez  0.  Eichmond,  who  had  for  two 
years  previously  been  engaged  in  manufacturing  batting,  near 
Wamesit  Falls,  established  himself  at  Massic  Fails,  where  he 
experienced  distinguished  success  in  that  business.  When  he 
began  manufacturing  operations  in  Lowell  in  1834,  he  borrowed 
six  hundred  dollars  from  a  friend,  with  which  he  bought  and 
started  a  few  cardinar  machines.  When  he  died  in  1854,  he 
left  an  estate  worth  over  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars,  above  all  his  liabilities. 

The  Massachusetts  Cotton  Mills — the  youngest  of  the  great 
corporations  now  existing  in  Lowell — were  incorporated  in 
1839,  with  a  capital  of  S  1,200,000,  which  was  afterward  in- 
creased by  the  absorption  of  the  Prescott  Company  to  $1,800,- 
000.  The  Agents  of  this  Company  have  been,  from  1839  to 
1849,  Homer  Bartlett;  from  1849  to  1856,  Joseph  White; 
and  since  1856,  Frank  F.  Battles.  The  Superintendents  of 
the  Prescott  Mills,  (a  part  of  the  same  Company's  establish- 
ment,) have  been,  from  1845  to  1849,  Homer  Bartlett;  from 
1849  to  1850,  Frank  F.  Battles;  and  since  1856,  W^illiam 
Brown. 


58  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

The  Massachusetts  have  six  mills,  with  67,872  spindles  and 
1,887  looms,  employing  1,300  females  and  400  males.  They 
consume  180,000  pounds  of  cotton,  and  make  540,000  yards 
of  cloth,  per  week ;  their  fabrics  being  Sheetings,  Shirtings 
and  Drillings,  No.  12  to  No.  22. 

In  1839,  John  Nesmith  and  others  were  incorporated  as  the 
Whitney  Mills,  and  for  several  years  they  manufactured  blank- 
ets in  the  stone  mill  near  Wamesit  Falls.  But  the  business 
proved  a  failure,  and  they  sold  their  machinery  to  Joseph  W. 
Mansur  and  John  D.  Sturtevant.  The  blanket  manufacture 
finally  found  a  grave  in  the  Tariff  of  1846.  That  Tariff,  the 
result  of  the  financial  charlatanry  of  Eobert  J.  Walker,  Presi- 
dent Polk's  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  raised  the  duty  on  all 
imported  wools  to  thirty  per  cent.,  while  it  reduced  the  duty 
on  imported  flannels  and  blankets  to  twenty-five  and  twenty  per 
cent. 

It  was  in  1839  that  Charles  P.  Talbot  &Co.  commenced  the 
business  of  manufacturing  dye-stuffs  and  chemicals  in  Lowell 
and  Billerica,  This  business,  small  in  its  beginning,  has 
gradually  swelled  to  the  amount  of  8500,000  per  annum.  A 
flannel  mill  has  also  been  started  dj  the  Messrs.  Talbot,  at 
Billerica,  with  eight  sets  of  cards. 

In  1845, — the  year  of  the  second  reorganization  of  the 
Proprietors  of  the  Locks  and  Canals,— the  Lowell  Machine 
Shop  was  incorporated,  with  a  capital  of  $600,000.  William 
A.  Burke,  who  had  previously  been  Agent  of  the  Manchester 
(N.  H.)  Machine  Shop,  was  the  first  Agent,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1862  by  Mertoun  C.  Bryant.  Mr.  Bryant  dying 
soon  afterward,  Andrew  Moody  succeeded  him. 

The  War,  which  brought  death  and  ruin  to  so  many  others, 
was  improved  by  this  company  to  the  utmost  advantage ;  and 
since  the  War,  they  have  realized  a  hundred  thousand  dollars 
in  a  single  year. 

The  establishment  of  this  company  consists  of  four  shops,  a 
smithy  and  foundry,  employing  800  men ; — 3,000  tons  of  cast 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  59 

iron,  400  tons  of  wrought  iron  and  35  tons  of  steel  are  con- 
sumed annually,  in  the  manufacture  of  Cotton  and  Paper  Ma- 
chinery, Locomotives,  Water-Wheels,  Machinists'  Tools,  and 
Mill-work. 

A  machine  for  bending  ship  timber  is  now  in  process  of  con- 
struction here,  the  weight  of  which  will  exceed  200  tons. 

While  the  Machine  Shop  was  getting  under  way  as  an  inde- 
pendent corporation,  the  Prescott  Manufacturing  Company,  i^j- 
corporated  in  1844,  with  a  capital  of  $800,000,  was  consoli- 
dated with  the  Massachusetts ;  the  change  being  made  with  a 
view  to  economy. 

Having  now  traced  in  outline  the  origin  and  progress  of  all 
the  great  corporations  of  Lowell,  we  may  here  insert  a  statis- 
tical summary  of  the  most  salient  facts  touching  their  produc- 
tive capacity. 

Capital   stock  of  the  corporations $13,650,000 

Number  of  mills 47,  and  dye-houses,  etc. 

Number  of  spindles 429,474 

Number  of  looms 12  117 

Female  operatives 8  890 

Male  operatives 4  672 

Yards  of  cotton  cloth  produced  per  week 2,248,000 

Pounds  of  cotton  consumed  per  week 646  000 

Yards  dyed  and  printed  per  annum 45,002,000 

Tons  anthracite  coal  consumed  per  annum 35,100 

Bushels  charcoal  consumed  per  annum 20,000 

Gallons  oil  consumed  per  annum 97,650 

Pounds  starch  consumed  per  annum 2,190,000 

Water-power nearly  10,000  horse-powers. 

Steam-power 32  engines — 4,375  horse-powers. 

Wages  of  females,  clear  of  board,  per  week $3 .  50  to  $3 .  75 

Wages  of  males,  clear  of  board,  per  day $;i .  00  to  $2 .  00 

Medium  produce  of  a  loom,  No.  14  yarn,  yards  per  day 45 

Medium  produce  of  a  loom,  No.  30  yarn,  yards  per  day 30 

Average  per  spindle  per  day 1^ 

In  1829,  one  mill  was  burned  down,  and,  in  1853,  another. 
Both  these  mills  belonged  to  the  Merrimack  Company ;  and 
although  fires  have  been  frequent,  no  other  mills  of  the  great 
corporations  have  been  lost  by  that  devouring  element.     Xhis 


60  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

comparative  exemption  from  the  ravages  of  fire  has  "been 
secured  by  the  most  efficient  system  of  watching,  which  has 
"been  practiced  here  from  the  first.  The  corporations  also  have 
an  elaborate  system  of  "sprinklers,"  which  enables  them,  in 
an  instant,  to  wet  down  the  whole  or  any  part  of  a  room,  or  of 
all  their  rooms,  so  that  fires  are  arrested  at  once.  This  admir- 
able machinery  of  sprinklers,  however,  was  not  introduced  un- 
til after  the  establishment  of  the  reservoir  on  Lynde's  Hill, 
in  1850.  A  system  of  mutual  insurance  against  fire  was  also 
adopted  by  the  corporations  about  the  same  time  ;  but  so  per- 
fect are  their  facilities  for  preventing  and  suppressing  fires,  the 
cost  of  their  insurance  has  been  less  than  a  tenth  of  one  per 
cent,  on  the  value  of  the  property  insured. 

In  connection  with  those  corporations  that  stopped  their  mills 
more  or  less  during  the  War,  the  question  may  be  asked,— 
How  would  the  great  men  who  founded  the  factory  system  of 
Lowell  regard  this  ruthless  dismissal  of  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  operatives,  dependent  on  their  day's  wages  for  their 
day's  bread  ?  The  founders  of  Lowell  were  far  in  advance  of 
their  times.  How  mindful  they  were  of  the  well-being  of  their 
operatives !  With  what  thoughtful  care  did  they  establish,  at 
their  own  cost,  their  admirable  system_i)f  boarding-houses, 
with  the  most  efficient  moral  police,  and  with  every  provisidn 
for  religious  worship  !  To  them  the  condition  of  their  opera- 
tives was  a  matter  of  the  highest  interest. "••=  Not  so  to  their 
successors.  The  impartial  historian  cannot  ignore  the  fact, 
painful  as  it  is,  that  nine  of  the  great  corporations  of  Lowell, 
under  a  mistaken  belief  that  they  could  not  run  their  mills  to 
a  profit  during  the  War,  unanimously,  in  cold  blood,  dismissed 
ten  thousand  operatives,  penniless,  into  the  streets  ! 

This  crime,  this  worse  than  crime,  this  blunder,  entailed  its 
own  punishment, — as  all  crimes  do  by  the  immutable  law  of 
God.  When  these  companies  resumed  operations,  their  former 
skilled  operatives  were  dispersed,  and  could  no  more  be  recalled 

♦  Appleton's  Origin  of  Lowell,  p.  15. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  61 

tliau  the  Ten  Lost  Tribes  of  Israel.  Their  places  were  poorly 
tilled  by  the  less  skilled  operatives  whom  the  companies  now 
had  to  employ.  So  serious  was  this  blunder,  that  the  smallest 
of  the  companies  would  have  done  wisely,  had  they  sacrificed 
a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  rather  than  thus  lose  their  accus- 
tomed help. 

During  the  last  forty  years,  a  great  variety  of  mechanical  tal- 
ent has  been  developed  by  the  corporations  of  Lowell.  But 
strange  to  say,  no  method  has  been  devised  to  retain  in  the  service 
of  the  companies  the  talent  thus  developed,  by  opening  to  its  pos- 
sessors a  wider  field  of  action.  Accordingly,  when  an  overseer, 
or  emplo3'^e  of  any  grade,  has  so  mastered  his  business  as  to  be 
fitted  to  fill  the  higher  positions, — so  often  filled  by  men  wholly 
ignorant  of  manufacturing  processes, — his  almost  only  hope  of 
advancement  lies  in  quitting. the  companies'  employ. 

Among  the  men  heretofore  employed  in  the  mills,  who  found 
no  adequate  sphere  on  the  corporations,  and  who  have  risen  to 
higher  theatres  of  action  outside  of  the  Lowell  mills,  the  first 
names  that  occur  are  Phineas  Adams,  Sylvanus  Adams,  W. 
L.  Ainsworth,  D.  M.  Ayer,  Jefi'erson  Bancroft,  Joseph  Battles,. 
E.  B.  Bigelow,  Ezekiel  Blake,  Cornelius  Blanchard,  Francis" 
A.  Calvert,  Josiah  Gr.  Coburn,  John  L.  Cheney,  Joshua  Qon- 
verse,  D.  D.  Crombie,  A.  G.  Cumnock,  E.  S.  Davis,  Orlando- 
Davis,  George  Draper,  Oliver  Ellis,  Franklin  Forbes,  William 
Hunter,  Daniel  Hussey,  L.  W,  Jaquith,  G.  H.  Jones,  Peter 
Lawson,  Pliny  Lawton,  George  Lund,  Foster  Nowell,  George 
K.  Paul,  Hannibal  Powers,  T.  L.  Kandlett,  E.  A.  Straw,  Eoyal 
Southwick,  Charles  P.  Talbot,  Thomas  Talbot,  Kufus  Whittier,. 
Claudius  Wilson,  Hubbard  Willson,  Walter  Wright,  S.  J.  Weth- 
erell,  Lothrop  Wetherell,  and  John  Yeaton  ;  and  many  others 
might  readily  be  recalled. 

Synchroniously  with  the  building  of  the  factories  and  board- 
ing-houses of  the  corporations,  a  large  number  of  small  private 
establishments  were  started  in  various  parts  of  Lowell,  by  ma- 
chinists, blacksmiths,  house-builders,  carpenters,  dyers,  carriage 

6 


62  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

and  harness  makers,  artificers  of  tools,  and  all  sorts  of  workers  in 
wood  and  in  iron, — in  short,  by  all  classes  of  mechanics  and 
artisans  who  could  in  any  way  contribute  to  the  building  and 
beautifying  of  an  inland  town.  Many  of  these  congregated 
near  Wamesit  Falls,  in  Belvidere.  There  too  were  subsequently 
started  the  manufacturing  establishments  of  James  0.  Patter- 
son, John  D.  Sturtevant,  Aaron  Cowley,  Eoger  Lang,  James 
Siner,  Samuel  C.  Shapleigh,  Moses  A.  Johnson,  and  others. 
Most  of  these  establishments  have  long  since  disappeared  from 
Belvidere — the  manufacturers  finding  a  more  desirable  theatre 
at  Whipple's  Mills,  and  the  miscellaneous  classes  of  mechanics 
establishing  themselves  at  Mechanics'  Mills  in  the  westerly 
part  of  Lowell.  This  region  of  Mechanics'  Mills, — built  up 
largely  by  William  Livingston  and  Sidney  Spaulding, — has 
been  the  focus  of  most  of  the  lumber  business  done  in  Lowell 
since  1846.  No  water-power  is  used  there;  but  planing  mills, 
saw-mills,  and  other  works  are  run  by  steam. 

It  was  long  the  policy  of  the  corporations  to  discourage  any 
manufacturing  enterprize  that  was  not  incorporated.  This 
policy  was  based  partly  on  a  love  of  methodicity  and  an  un- 
reasoning attachment  to  incorporated  forms  of  industry,  and 
partly  on  the  selfish  desire  to  have  the  whole  body  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Lowell  subject  to  their  sway.  But  notwithstanding  this 
discouragement,  many  independent  hives  of  manufacturing  in- 
dustry have  been  started  from  time  to  time  ;  and  some  of  them 
have  realised  remarkable  success. 

In  1846,  Oliver  M.  Whipple  gathered,  in  the  southerly  part 
of  Lowell,  that  group  of  industrial  establishments  ever  since 
called  W^hipple's  Mills,  which  are  supplied  by  the  water-power 
of  Concord  Kiver,  estimated  at  five  hundred  horse-powers.  In 
his  long  and  active  career,  Mr.  Whipple  has  rendered  many 
valuable  services  to  the  public.  Some  of  these  have  already 
been  forgotten,  and  the  memory  of  most  of  the  rest  will  prob- 
ably perish  with  the  generation  now  in  being.  But  whatever 
else  may  be  forgotten,  this  will  not  be  forgotten, — that  when 


HISTORY    OP    LOWELL.  63 

all  the  wateF-power  of  the  Merrimack  had  been  monopolized 
by  great  corporations,  he  laid  hold  on  the  water-power  of  the 
Concord,  and  held  it,  with  a  firm  hand,  for  the  use,  chiefly,  of 
independent  manufacturers.  For  nearly  twenty  years,  he  con- 
tinued to  let  land,  buildings  and  water-power,  on  the  most  lib- 
eral terms,  to  every  man  of  merit  that  would  embark  in  any 
manufacturing  adventure.  As  the  region  of  AYhipple's  Mills 
becomes  more  thickly  peopled,  the  magnitude  of  the  service 
thus  rendered  by  Mr.  Whipple  will  more  and  more  appear  ; 
and  Lowell,  when  she  calls  the  roll  of  her  benefactors,  can 
never  omit  his  name. 

Among  the  first  establishments  at  Whipple's  Mills  were 
Smith  &  Meadowcroft's  bolt  factory,  Thomas  Barr's  print 
shop,  Aaron  Cowley's  carpet  factory,  Sylvester  Crosby's  bob- 
bin shop,  and  C.  H.  Crowther's  dye  house.  Afterward  came 
Roger  Lang,  James  Siner,  and  George  Nay  lor,  carpet  manufac- 
turers ;  Carroll  &  Thompson,  dyers  ;  Charles  E.  Littler,  calico 
printer ;  the  Lowell  Wire  Fence  Company ;  John  Cowley,  woollen 
manufacturer ;  John  Sugden,  Ptichard  Rhodes,  and  James  Dug- 
dale,  worsted  spinners,  and  a  multitude  more. 

During  the  late  War,  portions  of  the  water-power  of  the 
Concord,  at  Whipple's  Mills,  were  purchased  and  applied  by 
the  Bclvidere  Woollen  Manufacturing  Company,  Luther  W. 
Faulkner  &  Son,  Charles  A.  Stott,  and  others.  The  residuum  of 
this  water-power  passed,  for  a  time,  into  the  hands  of  Ephraim 
B.  Patch,  who  sold  it,  in  18G5,  to  the  Wamesit  Power  Com- 
pany, which  w^as  incorporated  the  same  year,  with  a  capital  of 
$150,000.  By  this  company,  water-power  is  still  leased  to 
private  manufacturers,  as  in  former  years  by  Mr,  AVhipplc. 

During  the  two  lustrums  between  1845  and  1855,  the  num- 
ber of  spindles  run  by  the  great  corporations  of  Lowell,  was 
exactly  doubled.  Only  200,000  spindles  were  in  operation  in 
1845.  The  spaces  between  the  mills  were  then  built  up,  and 
other  extensions  made,  and,  in  1855,  the  number  of  spindles 
running  was  400,000,  with  12,000  looms. 


64  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

In  1860,  Moses  A.  Jolinson  and  others  establislied  a  mill  at 
Wamesit  Falls,  for  the  manufacture  of  cattle's  hair  into  vari- 
ous forms  of  felted  goods.  The  use  for  which  this  fabric  was 
originally  designed,  was  the  sheathing  of  the  copper  of  ships  ; 
but  it  has  since  been  applied  extensively  to  a  great  variety  of 
uses — such  as  underlaying  carpets,   roofing,  packing,  etc.     In 

1866,  this  business  was   removed  to   Pawtucket  Falls.      In 

1867,  the  Lowell  Felting  Mills  were  incorporated,  with  a  cap- 
ital of  $100,000,  and  with  Moses  A.  Johnson  as  Agent. 

Outside  of  the  great  corporations,  there  is  no  establish- 
ment in  Lowell,  involving  near  so  much  capital,  as  the 
Laboratory  of  Dr.  James  C.  Ayer  &  Co.,  established  in 
1843,  and  now  employing  one  hundred  males  and  fifty  fe- 
males. The  advertising  disbursements  of  this  firm  exceed 
$140,000  annually.  Five  and  a  half  million  copies  of  Ayer's 
Almanac,  printed  by  steam  at  their  establishment,  are  annu- 
ally distributed,  gratis,  in  English,  French,  Dutch,  German, 
Norwegian,  Spanish,  Portuguese,  and  Chinese.  About  320,- 
000  pounds  of  drugs,  of  the  value  of  $850,000,-220,000 
gallons  of  spirit,  of  the  value  of  $550,000,  and  460,000, 
pounds  of  sugar,  costing  about  $98,000, — are  annually  ex- 
pended here.  About  $1,500,000  bottles,  185,000  pill  boxes, 
425,000  square  feet  of  packing  boxes,  and  112,000  square  feet 
of  card  board,  are  also  used.  The  paper  and  printing  ink 
consumed  annually  amount  in  value  to  $75,000.  The  pro- 
ducts of  this  mammoth  laboratory  are  sent  to  every  part  of 
the  globe,  at  an  expense  of  $48,000  a  year  for  freight,  and 
$2,800  for  postage, — 150  letters  on  an  average  being  sent  out 
every  day. 

The  principal  manufacturing  and  mechanical  establishments* 
in  Lowell,  not  already  mentioned,  are  as  follows  ; 

American  Bolt  Company,  Bolts. 

Thomas  Atherton  &  Co.,  Machinists. 

Sager  Ashworth,  Files. 

Milton  Aldrich,  Hand  Screws. 

A.  H.  &  J.  H.  Abbott,  Carriages. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  65 

J.  W.  Bennett  &  Co.,  Metallic  Eoofing. 
Artemas  L.  Brooks,  Saw  Mill  and  Planing  Mill. 
D.  C.  Brown,  Reeds,  Loom  Harnesses,  etc. 
S.  L.  Buckman,  Harnesses. 
James  A.  Brabrook,  Harnesses. 
T.  F.  Burgess  &  Co.,  Iron  Machinery. 
H.  R.  Barker,  Gas  and  Steam  Pipes,  etc. 
Ephraim  Brown,  Money  Drawers,  etc. 
Blodgett,  Reed  &  Pease,  Stone  Cutters,  etc. 
S.  R.  Brackett,  Worsted  Yarns. 
George  L.  Cady,  Belt  Hooks,  etc. 
George  Crosby,  Extension  Tables,  etc. 
Coburn,  Wing  &  Co.,  Shuttles. 
John  H.  Coburn,  Shuttles. 
Coburn  &  Park,  Stone  Quarries. 
Cutter  &  Walker,  Shoulder  Braces. 
Samuel  Convers.  Carriages. 
Cole  &  Nichols,  Foundry. 
Elbridge  G.  Cook,  Tannery. 
Carter  &  Roland,  Wool  Washers. 
Charles  H.  Growth  er.  Dyeing. 
Alfred  H.  Chase,  Fancy  Cloths. 
Weare  Clifford,  Dyeing. 
Asahel  Davis,  Dovetailing  Machines,  etc. 
Luke  C.  Dodge,  Rabbeting  Metal,  etc. 
Davis  &  Meliody,  Planing  Mill. 
Alfred  Drake,  Card  Combs. 
James  Dugdale,  Woollen  Yarns. 
Dobbins  &  Crawford,  Steam  Boilers. 
Eagle  Braid  Mills,  Braid. 
Willis  G.  Eaton,  Currier, 
N.  B.  Favor  &  Son,  Doors,  Sashes  and  Blinds. 
W^illiam  Fiske,  Coverlets. 
L.  W.  Faulkner  &  Son,  Woollens. 
George  W.  Field,  Machinist. 
Fuller  &  Read,  Wood  Turners. 
Josiah  Gates  &  Sons,  Hose,  Belts,  etc. 
Joseph  Green,  Mats  and  Rugs. 
Hart  &  Colson,  Furniture. 
Hill  Manufacturing  Company,  Suspenders. 
Howe  &  Goodhue,  Card  Clothing. 
John  Holt,  Press-dyed  Flannels. 
6- 


B6  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

Andrew  J.  Hiscox  &  Co.,  Files. 

Howes  &  Burnham,  Lumber. 

George  W.  Harris,  Loom  Harnesses,  etc. 

Henry  A.  Hildreth,  Wire  Worker. 

B,  S.  Hale  &  Son,  Insulated  Wire. 

H.  B.  &  G.  F.  Hill,  Carriages. 

Eliphalet  Hills,  Wood  Turner. 

Hubbard  &  Blake,  Patent  Leather. 

J.  S.  Jaques  &  Co.,  Shuttles. 

Joel  Jenkins,  Carriages. 

Keyes  and  Sugden,  Worsted  Yarns, 

Eichard  Kitson,  Cotton  Machinery. 

D.  S.  Kimball,  Furniture. 

J.  A.  Knowles,  Jr.,  Scales. 

Wm.  Kelley,  Doors,  Sashes  and  Blinds. 

Benjamin  Lawrence,  Machinist. 

Lowell  Arms  Company,  Fire  Arms. 

Lowell  Card  Company,  Card  Clothing. 

Daniel  Lovejoy,  Machine  Knives. 

David  Lane,  Woollen  Machinery. 

Livingston,  Carter  &  Co.,  Flannels,  etc. 

William  E.  Livingston,  Grist  Mill,  etc. 

John  McDonald,  Carpets. 

John  Mather,  Carpets. 

William  &  Luke  McFarlin,  Ice. 

J.  V.  Meigs,  Patent  Guns. 

Norcross  &  Saunders,  Lumber. 

George  Naylor,  Carpets. 

Parsons  &  Gibby,  Copperstamps,  etc. 

F.  S.  Perkins,  Iron  Machinery. 

Parker  &  Cheney,  Bobbins. 

M.  C.  Pratt,  Doors,  Sashes  and  Blinds. 

Isaac  Place,  Doors,  Sashes  and  Blinds. 

J.  G.  Peabody,  Doors,  Sashes  and  Blinds. 

John  Pettengill,  Cisterns,  etc. 

J,  M.  Peabody,  Set  Screws. 

John  N.  Pierce,  Machinist. 

George  Piiplcy  &  Co.,  Batting. 

Eobinson  &  Nourbourn,  Machinists. 

Eunals,  Clough  &  Co.,  Granite  Workers. 

Charles  B.  Eichmond,  Paper. 

Joseph  Eobinson  &  Co.,  Acids  and  Charcoal. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  67 

Amos  Sanborn  &  Co.,  Silver  Ware. 
Samuel  Smith,  Set  Screws. 
Charles  A.  Stott,  Flannels. 

A.  C.  Sawyer,  Harnesses,  etc. 
Hamilton  Sawyer,  Machinist. 

Solon  Stevens,  Reeds,  Loom  Harnesses,  etc. 
Styles,  Rogers  &  Co.,  Grist  Mill. 

B.  F.  &  J.  Stevens,  Machinists. 
Taylor  Chemical  Company,  Chemicals. 
Upton  &  Blake,  Shoulder  Braces. 

U.  S.  Bunting  Co.,  Bunting.      D.  W.  C.  Farrington,  Agent. 

William  Walker  &  Co..  Woollens. 

Woods,  Sherwood  &  Co.,  Wire  workers. 

H.  &  A.  Whitney,  Lumber. 

S.  H.  Wright,  Machinist. 

Edward  F.  Watson,  Bobbins. 

Phineas  Whiting  &  Co.,  Belts. 

Charles  H.  Western,  Patterns,  etc. 

H.  H.  Wilder  &  Co.,  Brass  Foundry. 

S.  N.  Wood,  Grist  Mill. 

White  &  Plaisted,  Saw  Mill. 

White  &  Chase,  Flocks. 

There  are  also  various  manufacturing  establishments  in  the 
circumjacent  towns,  which  can  hardly  be  ignored  in  connection 
with  the  manufacturing  history  of  Lowell.  Among  these  are 
the  following : 

BiLLERICA. 

C.  P.  Talbot  &  Co.,  Flannels,  Dye  Stuffs  and  Chemicals. 
J.  R.  Faulkner  &  Co.,  Flannels. 

Hill  &  Proctor,  Machinery. 
Robert  Prince  &  Co.,  Soap. 
Thomas  Patten,  Furniture. 

Chelmsford. 

Eagle  Mills,  Woollens.     Isaac  Farrington,  Treasurer. 
Christopher  Roby  &  Co.,  Swords,  Edge  Tools,  etc. 
Baldwin  Company,  Worsted.     Peter  Anderson,  Agent. 
Silver  &  Gay,  Woollen  Machinery,  Tools,  etc. 
Chelmsford  Foundry.     W.  H.  B.  Wightman,  Treasurer. 
George  T.  Sheldon,  Hosiery. 


68  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

Merrimack  Hosiery  Company.     G.  T.  Sheldon,  Treasurer. 
Warren  C.  Hamblet,  Grist  Mill. 

Dracut. 

Merrimack  Mills,  Woollens.     Edward  Barrows,  Agent. 
George  Eipley  &  Co.,  Paper. 

Tewksbury. 

Fosters  &  Co.,  Furniture. 
J.  F.  Huntington,  Peat. 

Tyngsborough. 

Nathaniel  Brinley,  Lumber  and  Boxes. 

Westford. 

Abbot  Worsted  Co.,  Worsteds.     J.  W.  Abbot,  Treasurer. 
Charles  G.  Sargent,  Machinery. 

The  water-power  of  the  Merrimack  has  been  increased  by 
the  superaddition  of  reservoirs  near  its  sources,  which  cover  a 
hundred  and  fifteen  square  miles.  It  now  amounts  to  the 
enormous  volume  of  four  thousand  cubic  feet  per  second  for  all 
the  hours  during  which  the  mills  are  run,  or  nearly  ten  thou- 
sand horse-powers  ;  and  the  whole  of  this  has  been  applied. 
The  Merrimack  alone  use  the  whole  fall  of  thirty-three  feet. 
To  the  other  companies,  the  water  is  delivered  from  two  levels. 
The  Hamilton,  Appleton,  Lowell,  Suffolk,  Tremont  and  Ma- 
chine Shop  draw  from  the  upper  level,  under  a  fall  of  some- 
what more  than  thirteen  feet ;  while  the  Middlesex,  Law- 
rence, Boott  and  Massachusetts  draw  from  the  lower  level,  un- 
der a  fall  of  something  more  than  seventeen  feet. 

Within  less  than  a  mile  below  the  settled  portion  of  the  city, 
are  Hunt's  Falls,  where  the  Merrimack  River,  reinforced  by 
the  Concord,  makes  another  descent  of  ten  feet.  No  part 
of  this  water-power  has  yet  been  applied  to  manufacturing 
purposes  ;  though  the  utilization  of  the  whole  of  it  is  only  a 
question  of  time.  Here  are  the  means  to  increase  the  produc- 
tive power  of  Lowell  by  more  than  thirty  per  cent.     At  pres- 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  69 

ent,  however,  the  cost  of  the  dam,  canal,  etc.,  which  would  be 
required  in  applying  this  power,  would  probably  exceed  the 
value  of  the  power  that  would  be  obtained. 

Besides  Hunt's  Falls,  the  superaddition  of  steam-power  to 
the  water-power,  and  the  invention  of  contrivances  to  diminish 
the  friction  of  the  machinery  and  enable  it  to  be  run  with 
less  power,  will  lead  to  considerable  further  increase  of  our 
productivity  as  a  manufacturing  city.  Moreover,  the  experi- 
ments of  Bonelli  foreshadow  many  probable  future  improve- 
ments in  manufactures,  from  the  application  of  electricity  to 
various  process,  especially  to  the  weaving.  We  are  very  far 
yet  from  the  point  of  culmination.  Before  the  present  century 
expires,  Lowell  is  destined  to  contain  seventy-five  thousand 
inhabitants.  Nor  will  her  progress  end  even  there.  When 
the  men  of  our  times  are  all  gathered  to  their  fathers,  she  bids 
fair  to  renew  her  youth,  and  to  march,  with  firm  step,  toward 
the  goal  of  that  ideal  perfection,  which  is  forever  approached, 
but  never  attained. 


CHAPTER  V. 

GENERAL    HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.       1820 1835. 

East  Chelmsford  in  1S20— The  Jo7ir)ial -'Local  Militia— Orators  of  Independence- 
Day—James  Dugdale— Central  Bridge— Mechanics'  Association— Lowell  a 
Town— Postmasters— William  Livingston— Odd  Fellows— Ephraim  K.  Av- 
ery—Sarah  Maria  Cornell— Boston  and  Lowell  Railroad— Judge  Livermore 
—Police  Court— The  A d vert Iser— Francis  A.  Calvert— Gen.  Jackson— Henry 
Clay— Col.  Crockett— Grcorge  Thompson— Michael  Chevalier— Steamboat  on 
the  Merrimack— Mechanics'  Hall     The  Courier — Local  Scenery. 

In  1820,  the  village  of  East  Chelmsford,  together  with  Bel- 
videre  and  Centralville,  contained  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
inhabitants.  AVhipple's  Powder  Mills  were  then  in  operation, 
and  Howe's  Flannel  Mill.  Several  saw-mills  and  grist-mills 
also  contributed  to  the  life  of  the  place.  Hurd's  Mill,  now 
at  Whipple's  Mills,  then  stood  in  the  present  Middlesex  Com- 


70  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

pany's  yard.  Ira  Frye's  Tavern  stood  where  the  American 
House  now  stands,  and  furnished  "provender  for  man  and 
beast."  At  Massic  Falls  stood  a  blacksmith's  shop  ;  and  there 
were  a  few  other  such  establishments  as  country  villages  usu- 
ally afford.  Scattered  about,  were  a  few  substantial  dwelling- 
houses, — of  which  the  Livermore  House  in  Belvidere  was  the 
most  conspicuous — and  about  a  dozen  farm-houses,  cottages, 
etc. 

The  operations  of  the  Merrimack  Company  attracted  a  nu- 
merous and  daily  increasing  population ;  and  the  gables  of  a 
hundred  new  houses  shortly  pierced  the  sky.  In  1822,  a  reg- 
ular line  of  stages  was  established  between  East  Chelmsford 
and  Boston.  Previous  to  this,  business  men,  like  Mr.  AVhipple 
and  Mr.  Hurd,  had  often  paid  five  dollars  for  the  conveyance 
of  a  single  letter  from  Boston. 

In  1824,  a  weekly  paper  called  the  Chelmsford  Courier,  was 
established  in  Middlesex  Village,  and  became,  at  once,  the 
organ  of  the  rising  community.  It  was  published  by  William 
Baldwin,  and  edited  by  Bernard  Whitman.  In  a  short  time, 
it  passed  into  the  hands  of  E.  W.  Eeinhart,  who  changed 
its  name  first  to  Chelmsford  Phoenix,  and  afterward  to  3Ier- 
rimacJc  Journal.  He  also  removed  it  to  what  is  now  Lowell. 
In  November,  1825,  John  S.  C.  Knowlton  purchased  the  paper 
of  Mr.  Eeinhart,  and  after  the  incorporation  of  the  town, 
changed  its  name  to  the  Lowell  Journal. 

On  July  4th,  1825,  was  organized  the  Mechanic  Phalanx, 
the  first  Company  of  Militia  in  Lowell.  Four  other  companies 
of  Militia  were  afterward  organized  here:  the  City  Guards,  in 
1841  ;  the  Watson  Light  Guard,  in  1851  ;  the  Lawrence  Ca- 
dets, in  1855.  The  Phalanx  and  the  Guards  still  live;  but 
the  two  last  companies  passed  away  during  the  War,  giving 
place  to  the  Putnam  Guards  and  the  Sargeant  Light  Guards. 

In  1825,  the  anniversary  of  American  Independence  was 
celebrated  here  with  appropriate  ceremonies.  The  principal 
events  of  the  day  were  an  oration  by  the  Eev.  Bernard  Whit- 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  71 

man,  of  Chelmsford,  the  first  editor  of  the  paper  now  called 
the  Lowell  Journal,  and  a  public  dinner  at  the  Stone  House 
near  Pawtucket  Falls,  then  just  erected  by  Captain  Phineas 
Fletcher,  and  now  the  elegant  private  residence  of  Dr.  James 
C.  Ajer.  The  successors  of  Mr.  Whitman  in  the  line  of 
Fourth-of-July  oratory  have  been  as  follows: — In  1826,  Sam- 
uel B.  Walcott ;  in  1828,  Elisha  Bartlett ;  in  1829,  Dr.  Israel 
Hildreth  ;  in  1830,  Edward  Everett;  in  1831,  John  P.  Eobin- 
son ;  in  1832,  Eev.  Thomas  J.  Greenwood;  in  1834,  Thomas 
Hopkinson  ;  in  1835,  Eev.  E.  W.  Freeman  and  others;  in 
1836,  Eev.  Dr.  Blanchard;  in  1841,  Eev.  Thomas  F.  Norris 
and  John  C.  Park;  in  1847,  Eev.  John  Moore;  in  1848,  Dr. 
Bartlett,  again;  in  1851,  Eev.  Joseph  H.  Towne ;  in  1852, 
Eev.  Matthew  Hale  Smith;  in  1853,  Jonathan  Kimball;  in 
1855,  Augustus  Woodbury;  in  1860,  Dr.  Charles  A.  Phelps; 
in  1861,  George  S.  Boutwell  and  others  ;  in  1865,  Alexander 
H.  Bullock;  in  1867,  Judge  Thomas  Eussell,  and  others. 

Another  event  occurred  about  1825,  of  more  importance 
than  a  Fourth-of-July  oration  —  viz.,  the  arrival  of  James 
Dugdale,  an  ingenious  mechanic  from  Lancashire,  who  be- 
came overseer  of  a  spinning-room  on  the  Merrimack,  where  he 
introduced  the  English  "dead  spindle,"  and  revolutionized  the 
mode  of  spinning  coarse  yarns. 

In  1825,  the  Central  Bridge  Corporation  was  incorporated. 
The  only  mode  of  crossing  Merrimack  Eiver  at  this  point  un- 
til now,  had  been  by  what  was  called  "  Bradley's  Ferry." 
This  ferry  was  purchased  by  the  Central  Bridge  Company,  for 
one  tiiousand  dollars.  The  bridge  was  so  far  completed  during 
this  and  the  following  season  that  tolls  for  foot-passers  and 
carriages  were  received  early  in  December,  1826.  The  tolls 
for  foot-passers  were  abolished  in  1843.  The  bridge  itself 
was  rebuilt  in  1844  ;  and  covered  in  1849.  The  original  cost 
of  the  bridge  was  twenty-one  thousand  dollars  ;  the  cost  of 
rebuilding  was  nine  thousand ;  and  the  cost  of  covering  four 
thousand.     In  1855,  the  bridge  was  laid  out  by  the  City  Coun- 


72  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

oil  as  a  public  highway, — a  foolish  act,  which  involved  the  city 
in  most  tedious  and  expensive  litigation, =■=  and  for  which  the 
proprietors  of  the  bridge  recovered  over  $2G,000,  as  damages, 
costs,  etc.  The  present  bridge  was  built  in  1862  at  a  cost  of 
nearly  $34,000, — an  outlay  of  money  scarcely  less  reckless  than 
the  seizure  of  the  old  bridge. 

In  1825,  the  Middlesex  Mechanics'  Association  was  incorpo- 
rated to  minister,  by  a  library  of  books,  now  nearly  10,000 
volumes,  by  public  lectures,  by  occasional  fairs,  and  various 
other  means,  to  the  intellectual  needs  of  the  people.  This 
was  only  two  years  subsequent  to  the  founding  of  the  famous 
Mechanics'  Institute  in  London — the  first  of  a  most  useful 
class  of  popular  institutions,  originating  in  the  genius  of  Dr. 
Birkbeck,  and  helped  into  existence  by  Lord  Brougham.  Thus 
Lowell  followed  the  lead  of  London  with  a  more  rapid  step 
than  many  of  the  great  English  towns. 

One  hundred  years  had  now  elapsed  since  the  Wamesit  In- 
dian territory  was  annexed  to  the  town  of  Chelmsford.  The 
time  had  come  for  a  separation ;  and  the  inhabitants  of  East 
Chelmsford  petitioned  to  be  incorporated  as  a  town,  and  that 
that  town  be  called  Merrimack.  Mr.  Boott  suggested  the  name 
of  Derby,  probably  on  account  of  his  family  associations  with 
that  place,  which  was  also  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  one  of 
the  earliest  English  seats  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture.  The  in- 
fluence of  Mr.  Appleton  finally  caused  the  name  of  Lowell  to  be 
adopted,  out  of  respect  to  his  associate  in  the  Waltham  Com- 
pany, Francis  Cabot  Lowell. f 

At  the  inauguration  of  the  Lowell  Institute  at  Boston, 
December  31st,  1839,  Edward  Everett  delivered  a  biographical 
discourse  on  John  Lowell,  its  founder,  and  paid  a  well- 
merited  tribute  to  that  founder's  father,  from  whom  was  named 
our  City  of  Spindles.     "  Pyramids  and  mausoleums,"   says  the 

®  See  4  Gray'6  Reports,  p.  474. 

t  The  ancient  form  of  this  name  was  Louie,  afterward  Lowle.  It,  perhaps, 
had  the  same  origin  as  Lovell. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  73 

orator,  "  may  crumble  to  the  earth,  and  brass  and  marble  min- 
gle with  the  dust  they  cover ;  but  the  pure  and  well-deserved 
renown,  which  is  thus  incorporated  with  the  busy  life  of  an 
intelligent  people,  will  be  remembered,  till  the  long  lapse  of 
ages  and  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune  shall  reduce  all  of  America 
to  oblivion  and  decay  !  " 

The  municipal  independence  of  Lowell  began  on  the  first 
day  of  March,  1826.  The  population  of  the  new-born  town 
was  about  two  thousand. 

The  first  post-master  was  Jonathan  C.  Morrill,  who  had 
been  appointed  postmaster  at  East  Chelmsford  in  1823.  The 
post-office  was  located  at  the  corner  of  Central  and  William 
Streets.  Captain  William  Wyman  succeeded  Mr.  Morrill  in 
1829,  when  the  post-ofiice  was  removed  to  the  site  of  the 
present  City  Hall.  As  successive  administrations  came  into 
power  at  Washington,  difi'erent  post-masters,  of  different  party 
affiliations,  were  appointed.  Mr.  Wyman  was  succeeded  by 
Eliphalet  Case,  who  removed  the  office  from  the  City  Hall  to 
Middle  Street ;  Mr.  Case  by  Jacob  Hobbins  ;  Mr.  Bobbins  by 
S.  S.  Seavy ;  Mr.  Seavy  by  Alfred  Gilman ;  ]\Ir.  Gilman  by 
T.  P.  Groodhue ;  Mr.  Goodhue  by  F.  A.  Hildreth,  who  removed 
the  office  to  its  present  location,  and  who  was  succeeded  in 
1861  by  John  A.  Goodwin,  the  present  incumbent. 

The  years  1827  and  1828  were  marked  by  great  depression 
in  the  commercial  and  manufacturing  circles  of  the  country. 
Lowell  was  enveloped  in  the  common  cloud.  Mr.  Hurd,  the 
satinet  manfacturer,  became  bankrupt ;  but  the  two  corpora- 
tions— the  Merrimack  and  the  Hamilton — kept  on  in  the  even 
tenor  of  their  way,  too  strong  to  be  crushed. 

In  spite  of  all  this,  however,  Lowell  still  advanced,  aug- 
menting her  population  at  the  rate  of  one  thousand  souls,  and 
her  valuation-table  many  thousand  dollars,  every  year.  The 
business  facilities  of  the  place  were  much  increased  in  1828 
by  the  establishment  of  the  Lowell  Bank,  with  a  capital  of 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
7 


74  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

In  1828,  William  Kittredge  brouglit  one  ton  of  coal  to  Lowell 
in  a  baggage  wagon.  It  was  the  first  coal  ever  seen  here,  and 
was  considered  a  sufficient  supply  for  the  Lowell  market  for  a 
year.  When  the  first  coal  fire  was  started,  in  the  law  office  of 
Samuel  H.  Mann,  more  than  a  hundred  incredulous  persons 
called  to  satisfy  themselves  whether  the  "  black  rocks  "  would 
actually  burn. 

In  1829,  the  Lowell  Institution  for  Savings  was  incorporated. 
In  the  same  year,  William  Livingston  established  himself  in 
the  coal  and  wood  trade.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century,  Mr. 
Livingston  was  one  of  the  most  active,  most  enterprising  and 
most  public-spirited  men  in  Lowell.  Much  of  the  western 
portion  of  the  city  was  built  up  by  his  instrumentality.  His 
efforts  to  save  Lowell  from  the  oppressive  monopoly  of  her 
railroad  business  by  a  single'  company,  mark  him  as  a  man  far 
ahead  of  his  time.  If  the  men  of  business  here  had  sustained 
those  efforts,  as  an  enlightened  sense  of  self-interest  dictated, 
Lowell  would  now  have  two  competing  railroad  routes  to  Bos- 
ton ;  and,  with  cheap  freight  and  a  prompt  transmission  of 
merchandise,  her  progress  would  be  vastly  accelerated.  In 
politics,  Mr.  Livingston  was  a  Democrat  of  the  old  school,  and 
his  principles  brought  him  into  antagonism  with  all  attempts 
to  establish  monopolies,  and  with  all  political  and  incorporated 
"rings."  He  was  always  active  in  politics  as  in  every  other 
sphere  of  human  activity.  In  1836  and  1837,  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Senate.  He  died  in  Florida,  whither  he  had 
gone  to  escape  the  rigors  of  our  northern  clime,  of  consump- 
tion, March  17th,  1855  ;  and  his  place  in  the  business  and 
other  circles  of  Lowell  has  not  yet  been  filled. 

It  is  from  1829  that  Odd  Fellowship  dates  its  existence  in 
Lowell,  Merrimack  Lodge  having  been  instituted  during  that 
year.  This  Lodge  was  the  last  of  this  order  in  the  State,  that 
succumbed  to  the  opposition  which  all  secret  societies  at  one 
time  encountered  in  Massachusetts.  But  in  1836  it  ceased  to 
exist.      It  was  re-organized  in  1839,  and  has  continued  ever 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  75 

since.  Four  otlier  Lodges  were  afterward  formed,  two  of  wliicli 
still  live — Mechanics',  instituted  in  1842,  and  Oberlin,  insti- 
tuted in  18-1:3.  Two  Encampments  were  also  instituted  here, 
one  of  which — Monomake,  established  in  1843 — has  survived 
to  the  present  time. 

In  July,  1830,  an  acquaintance  was  formed  between  two 
persons  in  Lowell,  whose  names  are  destined  to  be  associated 
forever,  being  cemented  by  the  triple  bond  of  adultery,  abor- 
tion and  murder.  One  of  them  was  Ephraim  K.  Avery,  Pas- 
tor of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  now  in  Hurd 
street ;  the  other  was  Sarah  Maria  Cornell,  a  member  of  the 
Same  church,  a  fair  but  frail  factory  girl,  employed  on  the 
Hamilton  Corporation.  The  reverend  hypocrite  made  frequent 
calls  at  the  Hamilton  counting-room  for  interviews  with  his 
paramour  ;  ••'  and  then  it  was — 

"The  golden  hours  on  angel  wings 
Flew  o'er  him  and  his  dearie." 

Little  did  either  of  them  dream  that  the  amorous  dalliances 
in  which  they  then  indulged,  would  culminate,  in  a  few  fleet- 
ing months,  in  one  of  the  most  appalling  tragedies  in  the 
annals  of  New  England.  Others  besides  Avery  enjoyed  the 
favors  of  Miss  Cornell,  who  was  finally  expelled  from  his 
church  for  criminality  and  lying.  In  1832,  Avery  removed  to 
Bristol,  Khode  Island.  Miss  Cornell  followed,  and  took  up 
her  abode  where  she  could  communicate  with  him  by  personal 
interviews,  as  well  as  by  letter. 

On  the  night  of  the  twentieth  of  December,  1832,  loud  cries 
and  groans  were  heard  in  Tiverton,  a  few  miles  from  Bristol  ; 
but  the  bloody  tragedy  then  and  there  enacted,  was  not  discov- 
ered until  the  following  morning.  The  dead  body  of  Miss 
Cornell  was  then  found  suspended  by  the  neck  in  a  stack  yard 
fence,  near  the  spot  where  such  terrible  cries  had  been  heard 

*  This  statement  is  inconsistent  with  the  narrative  of  Avery,  published  with 
the  report  of  his  trial,  by  Richard  Hildreth  and  B.  F.  Hallett;  but  I  had  it  from 
the  late  Ithamar  W.  Beard,  who  was  employed  in  the  Hamilton  counting-room 
at  the  time,  and  who,  tinlike  Avery,  had  no  motive  to  lie. 


76  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

on  the  evening  before.  There  was  indisputable  evidence  that 
prior  to  the  murder  Miss  Corneli  had  undergone  the  manipu- 
lations of  an  abortionist.  By  a  remarkable  coincidence,  the 
day  following  that  on  which  Miss  Cornell  was  thus  put  out  of 
the  way,  had  been  assigned  by  the  Presiding  Elder  for  the 
trial  of  Mr.  Avery,  before  an  ecclesiastical  court,  on  a  charge 
of  adultery  committed  with  Miss  Cornell,  in  the  preceding 
August,  at  a  camp  meeting  at  Thompson,  in  Connecticut. 

Avery  was  soon  afterward  arrested  at  his  hiding-place  at 
Eindge,  in  New  Hampshire,  and  carried  to  Newport,  where, 
on  the  sixth  of  May,  1833,  he  was  arraigned  for  trial.  He 
was  the  first  clergyman  in  the  United  States  that  was  ever 
tried  on  an  indictment  for  murder ;  and  his  case  was  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  in  the  annals  of  crime.  His  trial  continued 
for  twenty-eight  consecutive  days.  He  was  defended. by  the 
celebrated  Jeremiah  Mason  and  Pdchard  K.  Eandolph,  and  was 
finally  acquitted.  A  Committee  of  the  New  England  Confer- 
ence reported,  and  the  Conference  unblushingly  resolved,  that 
Avery  was  not  only  innocent  of  the  murder,  but  that  he  was 
also  innocent  of  adultery  with  Miss  Cornell.  But  the  time 
had  gone  by  when  the  convictions  of  mankind  could  be  con- 
trolled by  the  decree  of  an  ecclesiastical  conclave.  Avery 
having  had  the  impudence  to  preach  to  his  old  society  in 
Lowell,  shortly  after  the  murder,  a  party  of  gentlemen,  not 
altogether  blind  to  all  moral  distinctions,  prepared  to  bear 
him  from  the  town  on  a  rail.  But  before  their  preparations 
were  completed,  Avery  fled.  His  pursuers  gave  expression  to 
their  resentment  by  hanging  him  in  effigy. 

In  1830,  the  Town  Hall  was  built,  and  the  Fire  Department 
established.  Our  population  had  then  increased  to  six  thou- 
sand four  hundred  and  seventy-seven  souls ;  the  principal 
streets  of  the  present  city  had  been  laid  out ;  and  the  once 
rural  hamlet  had  begun  to  wear  a  decidedly  urban  aspect. 

It  was  in  1830,  that  Patrick  T.  Jackson  undertook  the  Cy- 
clopean work  of  the  Boston  and  Lowell  Eailroad.       The  line 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  77 

for  a  macadamized  road  bad  already  been  surveyed,  "when  this 
road  was  projected;  and  it  was  a  part  of  the  original  plan  to 
have  the  cars  drawn  by  horses.  But  just  "  in  the  nick  of 
time,"  the  intelligence  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  brilliant  success 
in  his  experiment  with  locomotive  steam-engines  on  the  Liver- 
pool and  Manchester  Railroad,  reached  the  ever-open  ears  of 
Mr.  Jackson,  and  convinced  him  that  a  similar  road  might  be 
established  here  also.  He  corresponded  with  the  best  invent- 
ors and  mechanics  of  England,  availed  himself  of  their  valua- 
ble suggestions,  and  in  five  years  the  work  was  successfully 
completed. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  all  the  incorrigible  fogies  of  the 
country  pronounced  the  project  of  a  railroad  with  cars  pro- 
pelled by  steam,  to  be  radical,  wild  and  visionary.  Many  a 
Mrs.  Grundy  indulged  liberally  in  ridicule  at  both  Mr.  Jackson 
and  his  "  castle-in-the-air  "  railroad.  The  stockholders  com- 
plained of  the  repeated  and  enormous  assessments  which  he 
imposed  upon  them,  without  any  prospect,  as  those  timid  crea- 
tures thought,  of  any  future  dividends.  Probably  no  other 
man  then  living  in  Massachusetts  could  have  sustained  himself 
against  an  opposition  so  powerful  and  so  various.  But  the 
iron  mind  of  that  truly  great  man, — true  to  itself  as  the  needle 
to  the  pole, — overcame  every  obstacle,  and  pressed  right  on- 
ward to  the  goal. 

How  much  the  actual  cost  of  this  railroad  exceeeded  all  pre- 
vious calculations,  one  fact  will  sufficiently  indicate.  In  1831, 
a  Committee  of  Stockholders  estimated  the  whole  cost  at  four 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars ;  but  out  of  the  exuberant 
liberality  of  their  generous  hearts,  they  advised  that  six  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  be  raised  for  that  work ;  so  that  Mr. 
Jackson  might  have  means  "enough  and  to  spare."  But 
when,  in  1835,  the  road  had  been  completed,  the  actual  cost 
was  found  to  have  been  eighteen  hundred  thousand  dollars  !  or 
three  times  the  cost  of  the  Middlesex  Canal,  and  three  times 

the  cost  estimated  in  1831  ! 

70 


78  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

This  has  often  been  represented  as  the  first  railroad  started 
on  this  continent.  But  the  Boston  and  Quincy  Eailroad  was 
the  first  that  carried  freight — using  horse-power.  It  was  built 
in  1827.  The  first  passenger  road  was  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio,  opened  with  horse-power  for  fifteen  miles  in  1830.  Lo- 
comotives were  first  used  in  1831  on  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson 
Eailroad,  and  in  1832  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio,  and  on  the 
South  Carolina  Eailroad.  The  Boston  and  Providence,  Boston 
and  Worcester,  Boston  and  Lowell  Eailroads,  were  each  open  in 
1835. 

In  cutting  through  the  mica  slate  and  gneiss  rock  near  the 
Northern  depot,  to  lay  the  track  of  this  railroad,  remarkable 
intrusions  of  trap  rock  were  uncovered,  severing  and  disturbing 
the  general  strata.  Similar  seams  of  trap  rock  were  after- 
ward disclosed  when  the  cut  was  made  through  the  ledge  on 
Fletcher  street.  Phenomena  like  these  are  always  of  interest 
to  geologists. 

In  1831,  the  Eailroad  Bank  was  established,  with  a  capital 
•of  six  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  September,  1832,  occurred  the  death  of 
the  distinguished  Judge  Livermorc.  Edward  St.  Loe  Liver- 
more  was  the  son  of  the  Hon.  Samuel  Livermorc,  and  was 
born  at  Londonderry  (N.  H.)  in  1761.  In  1783,  he  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law  at  Concord,  and  was  Solicitor  for 
Eockingham  County  from  1791  to  1793.  From  1797  to  1799, 
he  was  a  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  New  Hampshire. 
He  was  elected  Eepresentative  in  Congress  from  the  old  Essex 
North  District  in  1807,  and  reelected  in  1809.  He  removed 
to  what  is  now  Belvidere  about  1816,  purchasing  the  estate  of 
Phillip  Gedney,  on  which  he  resided  till  his  death.  The 
Livermorc  estate  then  passed  into  the  hands  of  John  Nesmith, 
another  native  of  Londonderry,  and  of  the  same  sinewy  Scotch- 
Irish  stock,  which  has  given  to  the  United  States  so  many 
distinguished  men — Presidents  Jackson,  Polk,  Buchanan,  and 
Johnson,  Oenerals  McClellan,  Grant,  Sherman,  Butler  and  Mc- 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  79 

Dowell,  not  to  mention  James  Gordon  Bennett  and  Horace 
Greeley. 

In  1838,  the  Police  Court  was  established — -being  the  first 
local  court  established  here,  since  Major  General  Daniel  Goo- 
kin  played  the  part  of  judge,  assisted  by  the  Apostle  Eliot 
and  the  Christian  Indian  Chiefs.  The  first  Justice  of  the  new 
court  was  Joseph  Locke. 

The  bounds  of  the  city  were  extended  in  1834,  by  the  an- 
nexation of  Belvidere ;  '■••=  and  the  same  year  gave  birth  to  the 
Lowell  Advei^tiser.  After  running  for  some  time  under  the 
editorship  of  B.  E.  Hale,  the  Advertiser  passed  into  the  hands 
of  Eliphalet  Case.  In  the  list  of  Mr.  Case's  successors  are 
found  the  names  of  N.  P.  Banks,  H.  H.  Weld,  J.  G.  Abbott. 
I,  W.  Beard,  William  Butterfield,  Henry  E.  and  Samuel  C. 
Baldwin,  Fisher  A.  Mildreth,  Bobbins  Dinsmore,  and  J.  J.  Ma- 
guire.  The  Advertiser  always  supported  the  Democracy  ;  but 
the  Democracy  never  supported  the  Advertiser  ;  and  in  1864 
it  collapsed. 

In  1833  the  Lowell  Irish  Benevolent  Society  was  estab- 
lished. Their  charitable  disbursements  amount  to  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  per  annum.  In  1848,  this  society  was  incor- 
poratad  by  the  Legislature. 

In  1833,  Francis  A.  Calvert  began  in  Lowell  that  career  of 
mechanical  invention,  which  has  given  to  the  world  the  bur- 
ring-machine,  the  comber,  and  the  cotton-willow.  The  first 
worsted-spinning  machinery  in  Lowell  was  built  and  started 
by  him.  As  the  final  product  of  his  genius,  the  world  is  yet 
promised  a  percussive  steam-engine,  though  this  chef  d'cEuvre 
remains  thus  far  imperfect.  His  ingenious  brother,  William 
W.  Calvert,  came  to  Lowell  in  1825,  and  remained  for  twenty 
years.     He  died  in  1847,  at  Panama. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  1833,  Andrew  Jackson,  President  of 
the  United  States,  made  a  visit  to  Lowell,  accompanied  by 

<*  The  beautiful  faubourg  of  Belvidere  received  its  name  originally  as  a 
term  of  reproach,  on  accouut  of  the  lawless  scenes  then  frequently  witnessed 
tliere. 


80  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

Martin  Van  Buren,  then  Vice  President,  Judge  Woodbury, 
and  other  members  of  the  Cabinet.  A  brief  address  of  wel- 
come was  made  by  Joshua  Swan,  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Selectmen  ;  to  which  the  President  made  an  appropriate  re- 
sponse. He  then  proceeded  through  the  principal  streets, 
where  triumj^hal  arches  had  been  erected  and  decorated  artis- 
tically with  flags  and  flowers.  He  was  escorted  by  the  Select- 
men, the  Committee  of  Arrangements,  (of  which  Kirk  Boott 
was  Chairman),  a  regiment  of  militia,  a  cavalcade  of  two  hun- 
dred citizens,  six  hundred  school  children,  and  over  twenty-five 
hundred  factory  girls.  Clothed  in  white,  these  Lowell  factory 
girls  looked  like  "livered  angels."  They  walked  four  deep, 
and  their  beauty  and  their  elegance  of  dress  were  greatly 
admired.  The  procession  passed  in  review  before  the  Presi- 
dent, with  drums  beating,  cannon  booming,  banners  flying, 
handkerchiefs  waving,  and  nine  times  nine  hearty  cheers  of 
welcome.  The  old  hero  could  hardly  have  been  more  moved 
amid  the  din  of  battle  at  New  Orleans,  than  by  the  exhilerat- 
ing  spectacle  here  presented.  He  seemed  to  enter  Lowell,  as 
Scipio  entered  Kome  after  the  defeat  of  Hannibal,  or  as  Napo- 
leon entered  Paris  after  the  treaty  of  Campo  Pormio.  The 
procession  over,  the  President  visited  the  Merrimack  Com- 
^  pany's  mills,  and  saw  some  of  the  works  put  in  operation  by 
the  girls  in  their  gala  attire.  On  his  return  to  the  hotel,  he 
was  visited  by  a  young  lady,  who  requested  the  privilege  of 
kissing  the  father  of  her  country.  It  was  a  startling  request ; 
but  Jackson  submitted  with  becoming  resignation. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  how  a  spectacle  like  this  impressed 
the  imagination  of  the  distinguished  French  statesman,  Cheva- 
lier, now  Minister  of  Finance  to  Napoleon  the  Third  : — 

'"•If  these  scenes  were  to  find  a  painter,  they  would  be  admired  at  a  dis- 
tance, not  less  than  the  triumphs  and  sacrificial  pomps  which  the  ancients  have 
left  us  delineated  in  marble  and  brass ;  for  thoy  are  not  mere  grotesques  after 
the  manner  of  Rembrandt— they  belong  to  history,  they  partake  of  the  grand; 
they  are  the  episodes  of  a  wondrous  epic  which  will  bequeath  a  lasting  memory 
to  posterity,  that  of  the  coming  of  democracy." 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  81 

Four  montlis  after  Jackson's  departure,  October  25tli,  1833, 
Henry  Clay  visited  Lowell,  was  shown  through  the  mills  and 
schools,  and  treated  with  all  the  attention  due  to  so  distin- 
guished a  guest.  Luther  Lawrence  was  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  of  Arrangements,  Kirk  Boott  having  declined. 
Eemembering  how  Clay  had  advocated  the  declaration  of  war 
against  England  in  1812, — how  he  had  made  his  country  the 
cat's-paw  of  Napoleon, — and  how,  on  Napoleon's  downfall,  he 
had  patched  up  a  hasty  peace,  without  securing  one  of  the 
objects  for  which  war  had  been  declared, — Mr.  Boott  utterly 
refused  to  assist  in  any  honors  to  Mr.  Clay. 

In  the  evening,  Mr.  Clay  addressed  the  citizens  in  the  Town 
Hall,  which  was  illuminated  with  candles ;  and  though  Kirk 
Boott  was  not  there,  the  hall  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
Never,  probably,  has  an  orator  faced  a  more  enthusiastic  au- 
dience. Never  was  an  audience  moved  by  a  more  impassioned 
orator. 

Nineteen  years  rolled  away ;  the  twenty-fifth  of  October 
came  round  again :  but  the  sleep  that  knows  no  waking  had 
fallen  on  Henry  Clay  ;  and  all  that  was  mortal  of  his  great 
compeer,  Daniel  Webster,  lay  in  the  chamber  at  Marshfield 
attired  for  the  tomb  ! 

In  May,  1834,  the  famous  comic  statesman,  Colonel  David 
Crockett,  visited  Lowell,  and  was  hospitably  entertained  at  the 
Stone  House,  near  Pawtucket  Falls.  He  visited  the  factories ; 
and  at  the  Middlesex  Mills,  Samuel  Lawrence  presented  him 
with  a  suit  of  broadcloth.  He  met  the  young  men  of  Lowell, 
by  their  request,  at  supper,  and  made  a  shrewd,  sensible  speech, 
full  of  Crockettisms  and  fun.^-'= 

A  few  months  after  Crockett,  came  George  Thompson,  Mem- 
ber of  Parliament  and  Abolitionist,  who,  as  many  a  village 
politician  verily  believed,  was  sent  on  his  campaign  in  the  Un- 
ited States  by  the  British  Government,  and  had  his  pockets 
loaded  vv^ith  British  gold,  for  the  express  purpose  of  breaking 

*  Crockett's  Life  of  Himself,  p.  217, 


82  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

up  our  glorious  Union.  On  October  5th,  1834,  he  spoke  in 
the  Town  Hall,  where  "gentlemen  of  property  and  standing" 
banded  together  and  mobbed  him  as  an  emissary  of  the  devil. 
A  brick  which  was  thrown  at  him  through  the  window,  and 
which  failed  to  hit  him,  was  long  preserved  as  a  sacred  relic 
by  the  late  H.  L.  C.  Newton,  one  of  Thompson's  most  ardent 
friends. 

It  was  in  1834  that  M.  Chevalier,  the  French  political  econo- 
mist, already  mentioned,  was  sent  to  this  country  by  M.  Thiers, 
Minister  of  the  Interior  to  Louis  Phillippi,  for  the  purpose  of 
inspecting  the  public  works  of  the  United  States.  His  impres- 
sions touching  the  characteristics  of  our  social  organization 
and  the  workings  of  our  political  institutions,  were  published 
in  letters  to  the  Journal  des  Debats,  and  afterward  as  a  sepa- 
rate work.  These  letters  attracted  great  attention  at  the  time. 
In  a  letter  from  Lowell,  he  says : 

"  Unlike  the  cities  of  Europe,  which  were  built  by  some  demigod,  son  of 
Jupiter,  or  by  some  hero  of  the  seige  of  Troy,  or  by  an  inspiration  of  the  genius 
of  a  Cseser  or  an  Alexander,  or  by  the  assistance  of  some  holy  monk,  attracting 
crowds  by  his  miracles,  or  by  the  caprice  of  some  great  king,  like  Louis  XIV. 
or  Frederick,  or  by  an  edict  of  Peter  the  Great,  it  (Lowell)  is  neither  a  pious 
foundation,  a  refuge  of  the  persecuted,  nor  a  military  post.  It  is  a  siieculation 
of  the  merchants  of  Boston.  The  same  spirit  of  enterprise  which  the  last  year 
suggested  to  them  to  send  a  cargo  of  ice  to  Calcutta,  that  Lord  "SYilliam  Ben- 
tinck  and  the  Nabobs  of  the  India  Company  might  drink  their  wine  cool,  has 
led  them  to  build  a  city,  wholly  at  their  expense,  with  all  the  edificies  required 
by  an  advanced  civilization,  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  cotton  cloths 
and  printed  calicoes.  They  have  succeeded,  as  they  usually  do,  in  their  spec- 
ulations."* 

Foreseeing  that  the  Merrimack  Valley  and  indeed  all  New 
England  would  become  to  Boston  what  Lancashire  was  to 
Liverpool,  M.  Chevalier  continues : 

"The  inhabitants  possess  in  the  highest  degree  a  genius  for  mechanics. 
They  are  patient,  skillful,  full  of  invention  ; — they  must  increase  in  manufac- 
tures.    It  is  in  fact  already  done,  and  Lowell  is  a  little  Manchester." 

So  pleased  was  M.  Chevalier  with  the  factories  and  factory 
girls  of  Lowell,  that,  more  than  thirty  years  later,  in  1866, 
when  a  member  of  the  Commission  charged  with  the  organiza- 

*  Letters  from  the  United  States,  p.  131. 


HISTORY    OP    LOWELL.  83 

tion  of  the  Exposition  of  1867,  he  wrote  to  Senator  Sumner, 
invoking  his  efforts  to  have  a  group  of  these  girls  sent  to  Paris, 
with  their  looms,  so  that  they  might  be  seen  in  Paris,  at  work, 
as  thej  are  seen  in  LowelL 

In  1835,  Joel  Stone  of  Lowell  and  J.  P.  Simpson  of  Boston 
built  the  steamboat  "  Herald,"  and  placed  her  upon  the  Mer- 
rimack to  ply  twice  a  day  between  Lowell  and  Nashua.  But 
owing  to  the  shortness  of  the  distance,  the  inconvenience  of 
the  landing-places,  and  the  necessity  for  shiftings  of  the  pas- 
sengers and  baggage,  this  enterprise  proved  a  failure,  even 
before  the  railroad  was  opened  between  the  two  termini.  It 
was,  however,  continued  by  Joseph  Bradley  until  after  the  open- 
ing of  the  railroad,  when  the  boat  was  taken  to  Newburyport, 
and  sold  for  service  elsewhere. 

In  the  same  year  that  the  "Herald"  began  her  trips,  the 
Nashua  and  Lowell  Eailroad  Company  was  incorporated,  with 
a  capital  of  $600,000.  The  Lowell  Almshouse  dates  from  the 
same  year. 

The  Hall  of  the  Middlesex  Mechanics'  Association  was  also 
erected  in  1 835,  chiefly  by  contributions  from  the  various  man- 
ufacturing companies  of  Lowell.  In  this  hall  hang  full-length 
paintings  of  George  Washington,  Kirk  Boott,  Patrick  T.  Jack- 
son, Abbott  Lawrence,  Nathan  Appleton,  and  John  A.  Lowell. 
There,  too,  are  half-length  portraits  of  Daniel  Webster  and 
Elisha  Huntington,  with  busts  of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  George 
Peabody. 

On  the  sixth  of  January,  1835,  first  appeared  the  Lowell 
Courier,  the  oldest  daily  newspaper  now  existing  in  Middlesex 
County.  For  ten  years  it  was  published  tri-weekly  only,  but 
became  a  daily  in  1845.  Its  publishers  were  Leonard  Hunt- 
ress and  Daniel  H.  Knowlton,  and  it  was  printed  in  the  office 
of  the  Mercury — a  weekly  paper  started  in  1829,  and  after- 
ward consolidated  with  the  Courier.  In  the  February  follow- 
ing, the  Journal  also  was  consolidated  with  the  Courier.  In 
the  editorial  roll  of  the  Journal,  and  of  the  Courier,  during 


84  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

the  last  forty  years,  we  find  the  names  of  John  S.  C.  Knowl- 
ton,  John  K.  Adams,  John  L.  Sheafe,  Edward  C.  Purdy,  John 
S.  Sleeper,  H.  H.  Weld,  John  P.  Robinson,  Seth  Ames,  Charles 
H.  Locke,  Daniel  H.  Knowlton,  Leonard  Huntress,  Thomas 
Hopkinson,  Elisha  Bartlett,  Elisha  Huntington,  Elisha  Fuller, 
Albert  Locke,  Eobbins  Dinsmore,  William  0.  Bartlett,  Daniel 
S.  Eichardson,  William  Schouler,  William  S.  Robinson,  James 
Atkinson,  Leander  R.  Streeter,  John  H.  Warland,  Charles  Cow- 
ley, John  A.  Goodwin,  Benjamin  W.  Ball,  Samuel  N.  Merrill, 
Homer  A.  Cooke,  Zina  E.  Stone  and  George  A.  Harden. 

In  this  list  are  many  of  the  ablest  men  that  have  ever  re- 
sided in  Lowell.  Under  their  management  this  paper  was 
often  quoted  as  authority  by  other  journals  in  New  i'higland. 
But  the  gravitation  of  all  things  toward  Boston,  w'ith  the  im- 
mense and  inevitable  superiority  of  the  papers  of  that  city, 
has  arrested  the  growth  of  the  Courier,  and  of  many  other 
papers  within  equal  proximity  to  "  the  Hub."  W^hat  with 
steam-railroads,  horse-railroads,  telegraphs  and  the  habit  of 
traveling,  Lowell  is  now,  practically,  as  near  to  Boston  as 
Charlestown  was  in  the  first  days  of  the  Courier.  It  is  time 
that  counts  now.     Space  is  extinguished. 

By  this  time,  the  fame  of  Lowell  as  a  theatre  of  the  Cotton 
Manufacture  had  extended  throughout  Christendom.  The 
solid  Englishman,  the  impressible  Erenchman,  the  phlegmatic 
Dutchman,  thought  the  tour  of  the  United  States  incomplete 
until  he  had  visited  Lowell.  It  was  not  enough  to  visit  New 
York  and  New  Orleans,  traverse  the  prairies,  climb  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  and  listen  to  the  thunder  of  Niagara.  He  must  come 
to  the  City  of  Spindles,  and  enter  the  great  temples  of  the 
"  Divinity  of  Labor,"  each  more  spacious  than  the  Temple  of 
Jeddo,  the  Mosque  of  St.  Sophia,  or  the  Cathedral  of  Milan ; 
and  hear  from  the  legions  of  priests  and  priestesses  "  the 
Gospel  according  to  Poor  Richard's  Almanac." 

Through  these  visitors,  Lowell  first  awoke  to  the  singular 
beauty  of  her  own  natural  scenery.     The  whole  valley  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  85 

Merrimack  is  noted  for  its  picturesqueness ;  but  from  the 
mountains  to  the  main,  there  is  no  lovelier  scene  than  that 
which  meets  the  eye  when  from  the  summit  of  Christian  Hill, 
we  look  clown  upon  Lowell,  and  survey  the  varied  landscape 
unrolled  like  a  beautiful  map  before  us.  The  spacious  natural 
amphitheatre  surrounded  by  hills, — the  sky-blue  rivers, — 
the  long  lines  of  mills, — the  labyrinth  of  brick  and  masonry, 
— the  obeliscal  chimnies  curtaining  the  heavens  with  smoke, — 
the  spires  of  churches,  belfries  of  factories,  and  gables  o 
houses, — the  radiant  cross  of  St.  Patrick's  pointing  away  from 
earth, — the  forests  in  the  background,  and  the  noble  blue 
mountains  of  Monadnock,  Wachusett  and  Watatic  in  the 
distance, — all  combine  to  form  a  scene  that  must  be  pleasing 
to  every  eye  that  has  been  quickened  to  the  beauties  of  art  and 
nature. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


CHURCH    HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

St.  Anne's— First  Baptist— First  Congregational— St.  Paul's— First  Uniyer- 
salist^Unitariau — Appleton  Street  Congi'egatioual — "NYorthen  Street  Bap- 
tist— St.  Patrick's— Freewill  Baptist — Second  Universalist — Third  Baptist 
—John  Street  Congregational— Worthen  Street  Methodist— St.  Peter's— 
Ministry-at-Large— Kirk  Street  Congi-egational- High  Sti-eet  Congrega- 
tional—St. Mary's— Third  Universalist— Central  Methodist— Lee  Street 
Unitarian— Prescott  Street  Wesleyan— Methodist  Protestant  Church— St. 
Jolm's. 

St.  Anne's  Church  was  the  first  edifice  that  was  dedicated 
to  religious  worship  in  the  present  territory  of  Lowell,  since 
the  erection  of  that  modest  log  chapel  in  which  the  Rev.  John 
Eliot  and  his  Indian  assistant,  Samuel,  preached  to  the  copper- 
colored  Christians  of  Wamesit,  two  centuries  ago. 

8 


86 


HISTOEY    OF    LOWELL. 


The  founders  of  the  Merrimack  Corporation  made  early 
provision  for  religious  worship  among  their  operatives.  "In 
December,  1822,"  says  Appleton,  "Messrs.  Jackson  and  Boott 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  build  a  suitable  church ;  and 
in  April,  1824,  it  was  voted  that  it  should  be  built  of  stone, 
not  to  exceed  a  cost  of  nine  thousand  dollars."  The  Epis- 
copal form  of  service  was  adopted,  because  Mr.  Boott  was 
an  Episcopalian,  and  naturall}^  desired  to  bring  into  "the 
Church  "  as  many  as  possible  of  the  people  then  flocking  to 
East  Chelmsford,  some  of  whom  had  drank  of  one  dilution  of 
Christianity,  some  of  another,  and  some  of  none  at  all.  The 
church  was  organized,  Eebruary  24th,  1824,  and  was  called 
originally  "The  Merrimack  Religious  Society." 


The  first  public  religious  services  were  conducted  by  the 
Eev.  Theodore  Edson,  on  Sunday,  March  7th,  1824,  in  the 
Merrimack  Company's  School  House,  which  was  opened  to 
pupils  the  same  year.  The  church  edifice  and  the  parsonage 
adjoining  were  erected  in  1825.  It  is  a  substantial  edifice, 
built  of  dark  stone,  with  Gothic  doors  and  arched  windows, 
and  shaded  by  forest  trees.     The  cost  of  the  edifice,  including 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  87 

Bubsequent  additions,  was  about  $16,000.  It  was  consecrated 
by  Bishop  Griswold,  March  16th,  1825.-  The  Rev.  Dr.  Ed- 
son,  the  first  and  only  rector  of  this  church,  bids  fair  to  cele- 
brate the  Jubilee  of  St.  Anne's,  in  1874. 

In  the  tower  of  St,  Anne's  is  a  chime  of  eleven  bells, 
mounted  in  1857,  weighing  nearly  ten  thousand  pounds  and 
costing  over  $4,000.  Their  sonorous  tones  would  be  better 
appreciated  had  they  been  placed  higher. 

"Amid  these  peaceful  scenes  their  sound 

Has  soothed  the  wretched — cheered  the  poor; 
In  them  has  Love  a  solace  found, 
And  Hope  a  friend  sincere  and  sure." 

On  the  eighth  of  February,  1826,  the  First  Baptist  Church 
was  organized.  The  church  edifice  —  one  of  the  largest  in 
Lowell  —  was  built  the  same  year,  the  land  being  given  to 
the  society  by  Mr.  Thomas  Hurd,  the  satinet  manufacturer 
mentioned  in  a  former  chapter.  The  edifice,  which  cost  over 
$10,000,  was  dedicated  November  15th,  1826,  when  the  Eev. 
John  Cookson  was  installed  as  pastor.  He  was  dismissed 
August  5th,  1827,  and  was  succeeded,  June  4th,  1828,  by 
the  Rev.  Enoch  W.  Freeman,  who  remained  until  his  myste- 
rious death,  September  22nd,  1835.  Rev.  Joseph  W.  Eaton 
was  ordained  pastor  of  this  church,  February  24th,  1836, 
and  dismissed  February  1st,  1837.  Rev.  Joseph  Ballard  was 
installed  December  25th,  1837,  and  dismissed  September  1st, 

1845.  Rev.  Daniel  C.  Eddy  was   ordained,   January  29th, 

1846,  and  dismissed  after  a  longer  pastorate  than  any  of  his 
predecessors,  at  the  close  of  1856.  Dr.  Eddy  was  Speaker 
of  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives  in  1855,  and 
Chaplain  of  the  Senate  in  1856.  Rev.  William  H.  Alden  was 
installed  June  14th,  1857,  and  dismrssed  in  April,  1864. 
Eev.  William  E.  Stanton  was  ordained  November  2nd,  1865. 

The  First  Congregational  Church  was  organized  June   6th, 
1826.     The  church  edifice  was  built  in  1827,  on  land  given 

*See  the  St.  Anne's  Church  case,  14  Gray,  pp.  58G-C13;  and  Edson's  Thir- 
tieth Aunirersary  Sermon.  *-^-^ 


OO  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

by  the  LocIjs  and  Canals  Company,  and  cost,  with  improve- 
ments, some  $13,000.  The  first  pastor,  Eev.  George  C.  Beck- 
with,  was  ordained  July  18th,  1827,  and  dismissed  March 
18th,  1829.  Eev.  Amos  Blanchard,  D.  D.,  was  ordained 
December  5th,  1829,  and  dismissed  May  21st,  1845,  when 
he  became  pastor  of  the  Kirk  Street  church.  Eev.  Willard 
Child  was  installed  pastor,  October  1st,  1845,  and  dismissed 
January  31st,  1855.  Eev.  J.  L.  Jenkins  was  ordained  Octo- 
ber 17th,  1855,  and  dismissed  in  April,  1862.  Eev.  George  N". 
Webber  was  installed  in  October,  1862,  and  dismissed  April 
1st,  1867.  Eev.  Horace  James,  the  present  pastor,  succeeded 
him. 


The  Hurd  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  dates  from 
1826.  The  edifice  is  the  largest  Protestant  church  in  Lowell ; 
it  was  erected  in  1839,  at  an  expense  of  $18,500.  It  being 
the  custom  of  the  denomination  to  make  frequent  changes  in 


HISTORY    OP    LOWELL.  89 

the  location  of  their  clergy,  the  pastors  of  this  church  haye 
been  numerous,  and  their  terms  of  service  brief.  Eev.  Ben- 
jamin Griffin  was  pastor  in  1826  ;  A,  D.  Merrill  in  1827  ; 
B.  F.  Lambert  in  1828  ;  A.  D.  Sargeant  in  1829  ;  E.  K.  Avery 
in  1830  and  1831;  George  Pickering  in  1832;  A.  D.  Mer- 
rill, for  the  second  time,  in  1833  and  1834  ;  Ira  M.  Bidwell 
in  1835;  Orange  Scott  in  1836;  E.  M.  Stickney  in  1837 
iind  1838  ;  Orange  Scott,  again,  in  1839  and  1840  ;  Schuyler 
Hoes  in  1841  and  1842;  W.  H.  Hatch  in  1843  and  1844; 
Abel  Stevens  in  1845  ;  C.  K.  True  in  1846  and  1847  ;  A.  A. 
Willetsin  1848;  John  H.  Twombly  in  1849  and  1850;  G. 
F.  Cox  in  1851  and  1852  ;  L.  D.  Barrows  in  1853  and  1854; 
D.  E.  Chapin  1855;  George  M.  Steele  in  1856  and  1857; 
H.  M,  Loud  in  1858  and  1859;  William  E.  Clark  in  1860 
and  1861  ;  Daniel  Dorchester  in  1862  and  1863  ;  Samuel  F. 
Upham  in  1864,  1865  and  1866.  In  1865,  Eev.  Mr.  Upham 
was  Chaplain  of  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Eepresentatives. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Eev.  S.  F.  Jones,  in  1867. 


In  July,  1827,  a  society  was  organized  under  the  name  of 
the  First  Universaiist  Church.      In  the  following  year,  they 


90  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

erected  their  churcli  on  Chapel  street,  "but  removed  it  in  1837 
to  Central  street.  The  edifice  cost  $16,000.  The  first  pastor 
settled  over  this  church  was  the  Eev.  Eliphalet  Case,  who 
officiated  here  from  1828  to  1830,  but  afterward  abandoned 
the  ministry  to  become  a  reformer,  a  politician,  a  post-master, 
a  journalist,  and  a  rum-seller.  The  next  four  pastors  were 
Calvin  Gardner,  from  1830  to  1833  ;  Thomas  B.  Thayer,  from 
1833  to  1845  ;  E.  G.  Brooks,  in  1845  ;  and  Uriah  Clark, 
from  1846  to  1850,  when  he  began  to  develope  "Pree  Love" 
proclivities.  Eev.  T.  B.  Thayer  was  again  settled  here  in 
1851,  and  remained  till  October,  1857.  He  was  much  be- 
loved by  his  people,  and  the  regrets  which  attended  his  depar- 
ture, were  intensified  by  a  painful  accident  shortly  afterward, 
which  involved  the  fracture  and  almost  loss  of  a  leg,  with  the 
additional  affliction  of  a  newspaper  war  with  some  of  his  own 
surgeons.     In  1859,  Bev.  J.  J.  Twiss  succeeded  Dr.  Thayer. 

At  the  time  of  the  organization  of  this  society,  the  lords 
of  the  loom,  under  the  monarchy  of  Kirk  Boott,  exercised 
arbitrary  power,  not  only  over  the  acts  and  votes,  but  also 
over  the  thoughts  and  even  over  the  charities  of  those  in  their 
employ.  To  cherish  the  hope  that  the  loving-kindness  of  the 
Father  will  attend  the  whole  family  of  man  through  the  life  to 
come,  was  enough  to  put  any  man  under  a  cloud.  For  contrib- 
uting toward  the  erection  of  this  church,  and  for  advocating 
the  principles  of  Gen.  Jackson,  Mr.  (now  Eev.)  T.  J.  Green- 
wood was  dismissed  from  his  place  as  an  overseer  on  the  Mer- 
rimack Corporation  by  the  direct  order  of  Mr.  Boott.  Such 
an  act  of  bigotry  would  hardly  occur  now.  We  have  made 
some  progress  during  the  forty  years  of  Lowell.  By  the  way, 
it  was  in  Mr.  Greenwood's  room,  that  Nathaniel  P.  Banks 
began  his  career  as  a  "bobbin-boy,"  ere  yet  he  aspired  to  be- 
come a  lawyer,  legislator,  governor,  major-general,  etc. 

The  South  Congregational  (LTnitarian)  Church  was  organized 
November  7th,  1830.  The  edifice  cost  $32,000,  and  was  ded- 
icated December  25th,  1832.     Eev.  William  Barry  was  pastor 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


91 


of  this  churcli  from  1830  to  1835  ;  Henry  A.  Miles,  D.  D., 
from  1836  to  1853;  Theodore  Tibbetts,  in  1855  and  1856; 
Frederick  Hinckley,  from  1856  to  1864.  Eev.  Charles  Grin- 
nell  was  ordained  pastor  February  19th,  1867. 


The  Appleton  Street  (Orthodox)  Congregational  Church  dates 
from  December  2nd,  1830.  The  edifice,  which  cost  $9,000, 
was  erected  in  1831.  The  succession  of  pastors  has  been — 
William  Twining  from  1831  to  1835  ;  U.  C.  Burnap,  from 
1837  to  1852;  George  Darling,  from  1852  to  1855  ;  John  P. 
Cleaveland,  D.  D.,  from  1855  to  1862,  when  he  became  Chap- 
lain of  the  Thirtieth  Eegiment,  in  the  Department  of  the  Gulf; 
J.  E.  Eankin,  from  1863  to  1865.  Eev.  A.  P.  Foster  was 
ordained  October  3rd,  1866. 

The  Worthen  Street  Baptist  Church  was  organized  in  1831. 
The  edifice  known  as  St.  Mary's  Church  was  built  for  this 
society.  The  present  edifice  was  built  in  1838,  costing  $8,000. 
The  pastors  have  been — James  Barnaby,  from  1832  to  1835  ; 
Lemuel  Porter,  from  1835  to  1851  ;  J.  W.  Smith,  from  1851^ 
to  1853 ;  D.  D.  Winn,  from  1853  to  1855  ;  T.  D.  Worrall,  of 


92  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

memory  like  Uriah  Clark,  from  1855  to  1857  ;  J.  W.  Bonham, 
from  1857  to  1860  ;   George  T.  Warren,  from  1860  to  1867. 

The  digging  of  the  canals  and  the  building  of  the  mills 
early  attracted  the  sons  of  "the  Emerald  Isle"  to  Lowell. 
Different  clergymen  of  their  faith  attended  them  here,  secured 
for  the  time  such  places  as  were  obtainable,  and  offered  "the 
clean  sacrifice  for  the  quick  and  dead."  In  1831,  a  church 
was  erected  called  St.  Patrick's,  which  was  replaced  in  1854 
by  the  splendid  edifice  which  now  bears  that  name,  the  cost  of 
which  was  about  $75,000.  This  building  is  186  feet  long  by 
106  wide.  The  height  of  the  body  of  the  church  is  61  feet 
from  the  floor.  The  architecture  is  of  the  Gothic  style  of  the 
thirteenth  century.  Bishop  Fitzpatrick  of  Boston,  assisted  by 
Bishop  O'Eiley  of  Hartford,  consecrated  this  church,  October 
29th,  1854.  The  pastors  of  St.  Patrick's  have  been — Eevs. 
John  Mahoney,  Peter  Connelly,  James  T.  McDermott,  Henry 
J.  Tucker,  and  John  O'Brien.  Among  the  many  assistants 
that  have  officiated  here,  was  Eev.  Timothy  O'Brien,  who  died 
in  1855,  and  to  whose  memory  an  elegant  monument  was  erected 
in  St.  Patrick's  Church-yard. 

In  1833,  a  free  church  of  the  Christian  denomination  was 
organized  under  the  ministry  of  Eev.  Timothy  Cole.  Success- 
ful for  some  years,  the  experiment  finally  failed ;  and  Cole's 
church,  after  passing  through  the  hands  of  the  Methodists, 
became  first  a  dance-hall,  and  afterward  the  armory  of  the 
Jackson  Musketeers,  an  Irish  military  company,  whose  mus- 
kets were  taken  from  them  by  Gov.  Gardner.  Having  men- 
tioned the  Ja^ckson  Musketeers,  it  is  but  fair  to  say  that  when 
the  late  war  broke  out  in  1861,  they  forgot  and  forgave  the 
Know  Nothing  fanaticism  of  1855,  and,  rushing  to  arms  among 
the  first,  illustrated  on  many  a  bloody  field  how  bravely  the 
sons  of  Ireland  die  for  their  adopted  homes. 

The  Freewill  Baptist  Church  was  organized  in  1834.  The 
proprietors  were  incorporated  in  1836.  The  spacious  edifice 
on  Merrimack  street,  opposite  Central  street,  was  erected  in 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


93 


1837,  at  a  cost  of  $20,000,  which  was  largely  contributed  hj 
the  factory  girls.  There  preached  the  somewhat  famous  Elder 
Thurston,  now  no  more  ;  an  honest  man,  and  popular  as  a 
preacher,  but  incapable  of  managing  important  matters  of 
business,  such  as  he  was  foolishly  encouraged  to  undertake, 
in  connection  with  this  church.  Through  his  incapacity,  more 
than  ten  thousaud  dollars  was  lost,  in  the  course  of  six  years, 
and  a  tremendous  panic  ensued.  He  was  denounced  as  a 
thief,  and  indicted  and  convicted  of  cheating;  but  the  Supreme 
Court  set  the  verdict  aside,  and  the  prosecution  of  the  elder 
was  stopped. 

Then  arose  controversies  about  the  church  property, '-=  which 
was  under  more  th^n  fifty  attachments  at  once.  These  suits 
ended  adversely  to  the  society  ;  and  on  July  29th,  1846,  the 
deacons  were  forcibly  ejected  from  the  church  by  Joseph 
Butterfield,  a  Deputy  Sheriff,  on  an  execution  issued  upon  a 
judgment  belonging  to  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  Thomas  Hopkin- 
son,  and  Tappan  Wentworth,  who  personally  assisted  in  oust- 
ing the  deacons. 

That  comedy  might  follow  tragedy,  the  new  proprietors, 
Benjamin  Y.  Butler  and  Fisher  A.  Hildreth,  converted  the 
church  into  a  museum  and  theatre.  After  being  used  thus 
for  nine  years,  once  struck  by  lightning,  and  three  times 
burned,  in  1856,  this  ill-starred  edifice  was  fitted  up  for  a 
dance-hall,  a  bowling  alley,  lawyers'  offices,  a  newspaper  office, 
an  exchange,  etc. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  use  one  part  of  it  as  a  lecture- 
hall,  but  without  success  ;  though  the  famous  Lola  Montez, 
the  discarded  mistress  of  the  late  king  of  Bavaria,  delivered 
her  lecture  on  Beautiful  Women  here.  Nor  have  the  attempts 
to  use  this  edifice  as  a  caucus-hall  been  any  more  successful. 
The  last  attempt  of  the  kind  was  made  in  1860.  On  that 
memorable  occasion,  Theodore  H.  Sweetser  began  a  speech 
but  just  as  he  was  capping  his  first  climax,  a  gentleman  who 

*8  Metcalf,  301;  2  Gushing,  597;  4  Cushiug,  303. 


e 


94 


HISTORY    or    LOWELL. 


disapproved  of  his  remarks,  suddenly  turned  off  the  gas,  and 
**  brought  down  the  house  "  in  the  wildest  merriment  and  con- 
fusion. 

The  strategical  manoeuverings  by  which  this  edifice  was 
transferred  from  the  ecclesiastical  proprietors  to  their  lay 
successors,  were  none  too  creditable  to  the  consciences  of  the 
manipulators.  But  perhaps  f\xey  did  not  fully  realize  the 
scandalousness  of  their  jirocecdings,  and  failed  to  hear  the 
still,  small  voice  of  conscience  in  following  the  more  clamor- 
ous calls  of  avarice  and  ambition. 

More  than  twenty  years  have  now  elapsed  since  the  perver- 
sion of  this  edifice  into  a  museum.  Let  us  hope  that  before 
another  twenty  years  have  rolled  by,  this-church — the  mon- 
ument of  the  piety  of  the  factory  girls  of  Lowell — will  be 
restored  to  its  original  purposes,  and  reconsecrated  to  the  wor- 
ship of  the  everliving  God, 


In  1853,  another  edifice  was  built  on  Paige  street,  costing 
$16,700,  now  occupied  by  this  church.  The  pastors  of  this 
church  have  been — Eevs.  Nathaniel  Thurston,  Jonathan  Wood- 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  95 

man,  Silas  Curtis,  A.  K.  Moulton,  J.  B.  Davis,  Darwin  Mott, 
(a  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing,  who  finally  ran  away  with  another 
man's  wife,)  George  W.  Bean,  and  J.  B.  Drew. 

The  Second  Universalist  Church  was  gathered  in  1S36,  and 
the  house  erected  in  1S37,  at  a  cost  of  $20,000.  The  pastors 
of  this  church  have  been — Z.  Thompson,  from  1837  to  1839  ; 
Abel  C.  Thomas,  from  1839  to  1842  ;  A.  A.  Miner,  D.  D., 
from  1842  to  1848;  L.  J.  Fletcher,  who  became  involved  in 
his  domestic  relations,  and  remained  but  a  few  months ;  L.  B. 
Mason,  from  1848  t©  1849  ;  I.  D.  Williamson,  from  1849  to 
1850;  X.  M.  Gaylord,  from  1850  to  1853.  John  S.  Dennis, 
Charles  Cravens  and  Charles  H.  Dutton  were  then  settled  here 
for  a  few  months  each.  In  1859,  Rev.  L.  J.  Fletcher  again 
became  pastor,  having,  since  his  former  settlement,  run  a  varied 
career  as  preacher,  play-writer,  actor,  gold-miner,  school-master, 
lawyer,  politician,  judge  of  insolvency,  etc.  His  second  pasto- 
rate continued  three  years,  and  was  eminently  successful.  Piev. 
F.  E.  Hicks  succeeded  Mr.  Fletcher,  but  soon  died,  and  was 
succeeded  in  1866  by  Eev.  John  G.  Adams. 

On  July  4th,  1836,  the  Lowell  Sabbath  School  Union  was 
organized,  by  the  pastors  of  the  several  evangelical  churches, 
and  the  superintendents  and  teachers  of  the  various  Sunday 
Schools  connected  therewith. 

The  John  Street  (Orthodox)  Congregational  Church  was 
organized  May  9th,  1839.  Their  edifice  was  built  the  same 
year,  at  a  cost  of  $20,000,  and  dedicated  January  Mth,  1840. 
Eev.  Stedman  W.  Hanks,  the  first  pastor,  was  ordMed  March 
20th,  1840,  and  dismissed  February  3rd,  1853.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  liev.  Eden  B.  Foster,  D.  D.,  who  resigned  his  charge 
in  1861,  but  resumed  his  ministrations  here  in  1866.  During 
his  absence,  liev.  Joseph  W.  Backus,  was  pastor. 

In  1840,  the  Third  Baptist  Church  was  organized.  In  1846, 
the  edifice  now  occupied  by  the  Central  Methodist  Church,  was 
built  for  this  society,  costing  about  $14,000.  After  battling 
for  life  for  nearly  twenty  years,  under  the  pastorates  of  Eevs. 


96 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


Jolin  Gr.  Naylor,  Ira  Person,  Jolin  Duncan,  Serene  Howe,  Jolin 
Duer,  and  Jolin  Hubbard,  this  church  was  disbanded  in  1861. 
The  mention  of  the  Rev.  Sereno  Howe  renders  it  proper  to 
say,  that  during  his  seven  years'  residence  in  Lowell,  from 
1849  to  1856,  his  private  life  was  irreproachable.  That  he 
afterward  became  addicted  to  licentious  indulgencies,  in  Ab- 
ington,  may,  in  charity,  be  attributed  to  constitutional  infirm- 
ities, against  which  he  may  have  struggled  long  and  bravely, 
but  in  vain. 

"  What's  done  we  partly  may  compute, 
But  know  not  what's  resisted." 


The  Worthen  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organ- 
ized October  2nd,  1841,  and  the  edifice  erected  in  1842,  at  a 
cost  of  $8,800.  The  succession  of  pastors  has  been — Eevs. 
A.  D.  Sargeant,  A.  D.  Merrill,  J.  S.  Springer,  Isaac  A.  Savage, 
Charles  Adams,  I.  J.  P.  Colly er,  M.  A.  Howe,  J.  W.  Dadmun, 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


97 


William  H.  Hatch,  A.  D.  Sargeant,  (again),  L.  E.  Thayer, 
William  H.  Hatch,  (again),  and  J.  0.  Peck,  one  of  the 
gayest  Lotharios  that  ever  flourished  in  the  Lowell  pulpit. 
Eev.   George  Whittaker  succeeded  Mr.  Peck  in  1867. 

St  Peter's  Roman  Catholic  Church  was  gathered  on  Christ- 
mas Day,  1841,  and  the  edifice  built  the  same  year,  costing 
$22,000.  Eev.  James  Conway,  the  first  pastor  of  St.  Peter's, 
was  succeeded  in  March,  1847,  by  Eev.  Peter  Crudden. 


In  1843,  the  Lowell  Missionar}''  Society  established  a  Min- 
istry-at-Large  after  the  style  of  that  established  in  Boston  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Tuckerman.  Rev.  Horatio  Wood  has  officiated 
in  this  ministry  since  1844.  He  has  also  labored  assiduously 
and  successfully  in  Free  Evening  Schools,  Sunday  Mission 
Schools,  etc. 

The  Kirk  Street  Congregational  Church  dates  from   1845, 
and  the  edifice  from   1!^46.      The   cost  of  the  land,  edifice, 
organ,  etc.,  was  $22,000.     Rev,  Amos  Blanchard,  D.  D.,  has 
been  pastor  of  this  church  ever  since  its  organization. 
9 


98 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


In  the  substantial  elements  of  parochial  strength,  this 
church  is  one  of  the  strongest  in  Lowell.  Yet  four  lines 
suffice  for  its  history — it  having  had  no  changes  in  its  pas- 
torate, no  heresy,  no  schism,  no  scamps,  no  scandal.  "Happy 
are  the  people  whose  annals  are  barren." 

The  High  Street  Congregational  Church  was  organized  in 
1846.  Their  edifice,  which  cost  $12,500,  was  built  by  St. 
Luke's  Church,  an  Episcopal  society  which  was  formed  in 
1842,  and  which  perished  in  1844,  under  Eev.  A.  D.  McCoy. 
The  pastors  have  been — Eev.  Timothy  Atkinson,  from  1846  to 
1847  ;  Eev.  Joseph  H.  Towne,  from  1848  to  1853  ;  and  Eev. 
0.  T.  Lamphier,  from  1855  to  1856.  Eev.  Owen  Street,  the 
present  pastor,  was  installed  September  17th.  1857. 

St.  Mary's  Eoman  Catholic  Church  was  originally  built  for 
the  Baptists,  but  was  ill  located  for  any  Protestant  sect.  After 
passing  through  various  vicissitudes,  in  1846,  it  was  purchased 
by  the  late  Eev.  James  T.  McDermott,  and  consecrated  March 
7th,  1 847.  Father  McDermott's  independence  of  mind  in- 
volved him  in  a  controversy  with  his  Diocesan,  the  late  Bishop 
ritzpatrick  ;  and  for  years  this  church  has  been  closed.     This 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


99 


is  mucli  to  be  regretted ;  for  in  Lowell,  as  in  all  the  centres  of 
population,  the  lioman  Catholic  Church  has  a  great  body  of 
the  poor  and  laboring  classes  in  her  communion ;  and  as  Brown- 
son  remarks,  "the  country  is  more  indebted  than  it  is  aware 
of,  to  the  Catholic  priesthood,  for  their  labors  among  this  por- 
tion of  our  population."  =•••= 

In  1843,  the  Third  Universalist  Church  was  organized,  and 
the  edifice  now  known  as  Barrister's  Hall  built  for  its  use. 
But  after  a  languid  existence  under  Revs.  H.  G  Smith,  John 
Moore,  H.  G.  Smith,  (again),  and  L.  J.  Fletcher,  it  was  dis- 
solved. The  two  last  pastors  of  this  church  were  not  in  full 
fellowship  with  their  denomination,  but  preached  indepen- 
dently as  ecclesiastical  guerrillas. 


The  Central  Methodist  Church  occupied  this  edifice,  after 
the  collapse  of  the  Universalist  society,  until  1861,  when 
they  secured  the  building  of  the  Third  Baptist  Church,  then 
defunct.  This  Central  Methodist  society  was  gathered  in 
1854.      The  pastors  have    been — Bevs.  William   S.   Studley, 

*  Father  O'Brien  estimates  the  number  of  Roman  Catholics  in  Lowell  to 
be  fifteen  thousand. 


100 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


Isaac  S.  Cushman,  Isaac  J.  P.  Collycr,  Chester  Field,  Lorenzo 
E.  Thayer  and  J.  H.  Mansfield.  Eev.  Andrew  McKeown  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Mansfield  in  18G5,  and  remained  two  years.  He 
was  succeeded  in  1867  by  Picv.  AVilliam  C.  High. 


In  1850,  a  picturesque  stone  edifice,  of  Gothic  style,  with 
stained  windows,  was  erected  on  Lee  street,  at  a  cost  of  $20,000. 
It  was  designed  for  a  Unitarian  society,  organized  in  1846, 
which  occupied  it  until  18G1,  whose  pastors  were  Eevs.  M.  A. 
H.  Niles,  AVilliam  Barry,  Augustus  Woodbury,  J.  K.  Karcher, 
John  B.  Willard,  and  William  C.  Tenney. 

Since  1864  it  has  been  occupied  by  a  society  of  Spiritualists. 

The  wooden  edifice  on  Prescott  street  containing  Leonard 
Worcester's  clothes-making  establishment,  has  an  ecclesias- 
tical history  that  must  not  be  lost.  It  was  the  first  church 
erected  by  the  Episcopal  Methodists  in  Lowell,  and  was  built 
in  1827.     It  stood  originally  at  the  corner  of  Elm  and  Central 


f 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  101 

streets.  It  is  from  this  church  or  chapel  that  Chapel  Hill 
derives  its  name.  On  the  completion  of  the  Hurd  street 
church  in  1839,  this  edifice  was  closed.  But  on  the  organ- 
zation  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  as  a  separate  denomination, 
this  church  passed  into  their  hands.  In  1843,  it  was  removed 
to  Prescott  Street.  Here  successively  preached  Eevs.  E.  S. 
Potter,  James  Hardy,  Merritt  Bates,  William  H.  Brewster,  =■' 
and  Daniel  Foster,  who  became  Chaplain  of  the  Massachusetts 
House  of  Eepresentatives  in  1857,  and  subsequently  Chaj^lain 
of  the  Thirty-Third  Regiment  of  Massachusetts  Volunteers, 
and  who  was  kitled  in  battle  at  Fort  Harrison,  September 
30th,  1864,  while  in  command  of  a  company  of  the  Thirty- 
Seventh  Colored  Troops. 

If  Captain  Foster  was  the  last,  Mr.  Hardy  was  the  most 
popular  in  this  succession  of  pastors.  He  began  his  ministry 
here  in  1846,  and  flourished  brilliantl}^  for  a  time,  selecting  the 
best  sermons  of  the  ablest  English  divines,  and  palming  them 
off  as  his  own — his  too  credulous  people  admiring  and  won- 
dering at  his  ability  and  versatility. 

"  Aud  still  he  talked,  and  still  the  wonder  gi-ew, 
That  oue  small  head  conld  carry  all  he  knew." 

Mr.  Hardy,  however,  proved  anything  but  a  good  shepherd 
He  developed  tendencies  toward  practical  Mormonism  and  Free 
Love.  He  not  only  had  one  wife  too  many,  but  he  was  dis- 
covered in  a  liason  with  one  of  the  ladies  of  his  choir,  and 
his  pastorate  was  brought  to  an  abrupt  termination.  He  sub- 
sequentl}'-  "took  a  degree"  in  a  New  York  penitentiary  for 
bigamy,  and  died  ingloriously. 

On  July  5th,  1855,  the  stone  edifice  on  Merrimack  street 
erected  by  the  late  William  Wyman,  was  dedicated  as  a 
Methodist  Protestant  Church.  There  preached  Revs.  Wil- 
liam Marks,   Richard  H.   Dorr,  Robert  Crossley,  and  others, 

*Mr.  Brewster  had  previously  been  pastor  of  a  second  Wesleyan  society, 
which  long  occupied  the  edifice  on  Lowell  street,  where  Rev.  Timothy  Cole 
formerly  preached. 

9* 


102  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

both  clerical  and  lay,  not  the  least  of  whom  was  Captain  Wy- 
man  himself.  But  after  a  few  years  the  enterprise  aborted  ; 
and  the  edifice  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Second  Advent- 
ists,  a  society  formed  here  as  early  as  1842. 

St.  John's  Episcopal  church  was  erected  in  1861,  and  con- 
secrated by  Bishop  Eastburn,  July  16th,  1863.  Eev.  Charles 
W.  Homer,  who  had  previously  been  assistant  minister  at  St. 
Anne's,  was  the  first  rector.  On  November  22nd,  1862,  he 
resigned,  and  was  succeeded  in  1863,  by  Eev.  Cornelius  B. 
Smith,  to  whom  in  1866  succeeded  Eev.  Charles  L.  Hutchins. 
In  this  edifice  is  a  Memorial  Window  to  the  late  Elisha  Hun- 
tington. 

Besides  the  churches  herein  chronicled,  others  have  been 
formed  at  various  times,  which  acquired  no  permanent  foot- 
hold, but  experienced  all  varieties  of  fortune,  and  passed  into 
the  limbo  of  oblivion,  leaving  no  discernable  footprints  on  the 
ever-changing  sands  of  time. 

The  number  of  churches  now  "  in  commission"  here  is  eigh- 
teen. The  population  of  Lowell  is  about  forty  thousand.  If, 
then,  we  assume  each  church  to  have,  upon  an  average,  six  hun- 
dred attendants,  we  shall  have,  in  the  aggregate,  ten  thousand 
eight  hundred  church-goers ;  and  if  to  this  we  add  twenty-two 
hundred  who  are  reached  through  the  Ministry-at-Large,  the 
Mission  Schools,  etc.,  we  shall  still  have  twenty-seven  thousand 
souls  unprovided  with  stated  religious  instruction. 


HISTORY    (fe    LOWELL.  103 

CHAPTER  VII. 

SCHOOL    HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

District  Sshools — High  School  —  Edson  —  Washington  —  Bartlett  —  Adams — 
Franklin  —  Moody — Green  —  Mann —  Colburu —  Varnum — Intermediate — 
Evening — Carney  Medals — Superintendence,  etc. 

Before  the  manufacturing  companies  began  their  operations 
here,  the  eastern  school  district  of  Chelmsford  contained  two 
common  district  schools,  one  near  the  pound  on  the  old  Chelms- 
ford road,  and  the  other  near  Pawtucket  Falls.  In  182-1,  the 
Merrimack  Company,  at  their  own  expense,  established  a  school 
for  the  children  of  their  operatives,  and  placed  it  under  the 
supervision  of  Rev.  Theodore  Edson,  their  minister.  This 
school — the  germ  of  the  present  Bartlett  School — was  kept  in 
the  lower  story  of  the  building  then  occupied  by  the  Merri- 
mack Religious  Society.  Colburn's  '' I irst  Lessons,"  and  his 
"  Sequel"  were  introduced  here,  though  much  denounced  and 
opposed  by  those  who  did  not  understand  them.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year,  the  opposition  to  Colburn's  books  abated,  the 
school  being  then  in  charge  of  Joel  Lewis,  who  had  been  a 
pupil  of  Colburn,  and  understood  the  use  of  his  books. 

In  1826,  the  new-born  town  of  Lowell  was  divided  into 
six  school  districts  ;  and  one  thousand  dollars  was  appropri- 
ated for  the  support  of  schools  during  that  year.  The  school 
for  the  first  district  was  that  which  the  Merrimack  Company 
had  founded  ;  that  for  the  second  district  stood  near  where 
the  Hospital  now  stands  ;  that  for  the  third,  near  the  Pound  ; 
that  for  the  fourth,  near  Hale's  Mills  ;  that  for  the  fifth — the 
germ  of  the  present  Edson  School — near  the  site  of  the  Free 
Chapel ;  that  for  the  sixth,  near  the  south  corner  of  Central 
and  Hurd  streets.  As  population  multiplied,  other  schools 
were  opened,  but  the  number  of  districts  remained  unchanged 
until  1832,  when  the  district  system  terminated. 


104  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

The  first  Scliool  Committee  consisted  of  Theodore  Edson, 
Warren  Colburn,  Samuel  Batclielder,  John  0.  Green,  and  Eli- 
sha  Huntington.  Their  report  was  read  in  the  town  meeting 
in  March,  1827,  and  recorded  in  the  town  book.  The  appro- 
priate custom  of  reading  school  committees'  reports  in  town 
meeting  is  now  universal  in  Massachusetts.  Concord,  which 
claims  the  honor  of  leading  in  this  custom,  did  not  adopt  it 
until  1830,  four  years  after  it  had  been  introduced  in  Lowell.'-' 

In  the  management  of  these  schools,  the  School  Committee, 
for  some  years,  encountered  many  difficulties,  through  the  fierce 
antagonisms  of  interest  and  feeling  which  arose  between  the 
old  settlers  and  the  operatives  in  the  mills.  The  old  preju- 
dice against  Colburn's  books  soon  revived  with  unwonted  fury, 
especially  in  the  third  district,  which  was  the  smallest  and  the 
most  troublesome  in  the  town.  In  the. winter  of  1826-7,  a 
teacher — Perley  Morse — was  employed  by  the  Prudential  Com- 
mittee, who  joined  in  the  opposition  to  Colburn's  books,  and 
whom  the  School  Committee  refused  to  approve ;  but  the  Pru- 
dential Committee,  contrary  to  law,  backed  by  the  people,  sus- 
tained him  in  his  school.  The  excitement  reached  its  crisis  at 
the  town  meeting  in  March,  1828.  The  report  of  the  School 
Committee  had  no  sooner  been  read,  than,  by  vote  of  the 
meetinf^,  it  was  laid  under  the  table  ;  and  a  motion  was  made 
that  the  Committee  be  laid  under  the  table  too.  Neither 
Colburn,  nor  Edson,  nor  any  of  their  associates  were  then  re- 
elected ;  but  a  new  Committee  was  chosen,  perfectly  supple 
and  subservient  to  popular  caprice. 

The  operation  of  the  complex  machinery  of  the  District 
system  was  attended  with  constant  friction ;  and  on  the  third 
of  September,   1832,  a  town  meeting  was  held  to  determine 

*Edson's  Colburn  School  Address,  p.  12.  Mr.  Boutwell's  statement  on 
the  sixty-first  page  of  his  last  report  as  Secretarj-  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, requires  correction.  For  the  roll  of  School  Committee-men,  see 
the  Appendix  to  the  Regulations  of  the  School  Committee,  ISoT.  See  also 
Merrill's  school  sketches  in  Lowell  Courier^  December,  18.59. 


HISTORY    OP    LOWELL.  105 

whether  the  town  would  authorize  a  loan  of  $20,000  to  defray 
the  expense  of  buying  land  and  building  two  large  school 
houses,  with  the  view  of  consolidating  all  the  public  schools 
of  the  town  in  two  large  schools,  and  thus  superseding  the 
District  system  altogether.  The  whole  body  of  corporation 
influence,  with  Kirk  Boott  to  wield  it  at  his  imperial  will, 
was  brought  to  bear  against  the  proposed  reform ;  and  not  a 
few  of  the  old  settlers  also  clung  with  fond  tenacity  to  their 
*^  deestrict^'  schools.  So  formidable  was  this  opposition,  that, 
although  the  local  clergy  and  all  the  most  intelligent  friends 
of  education  strongly  favored  the  innovation,  only  one  man 
was  found  with  courage  enough  to  advocate  it  in  town  meet- 
ing. Single  handed  and  alone,  Theodore  Edson  met  Kirk  Boott 
and  his  allies  breast  to  breast ;  not  hesitating 

"To  beavd  the  lion  m  his  den, 
The  Doiiglass  in  his  hall." 

During  a  protracted  and  tumultuous  debate,  Edson  held  his 
ground  unflinchingly,  and  finally  carried  his  point  by  twelve 
majority.  Chafing  under  their  defeat,  the  adherents  of  the  old 
system  called  another  town  meeting  on  the  nineteenth  of  the 
same  month,  when  another  debate  ensued,  more  tumultuous 
and  more  decisive  than  the  last.  Two  new  champions  —  John 
P.  Eobinson  and  Luther  Lawrence  —  entered  the  list  with 
Boott ;  but  Edson  stood  alone  as  before,  and  when  the  vote 
was  taken,  carried  his  point  by  thirty-eight  majority, —  con- 
vincing his  opponents  that  it  would  be  folly  to  renew  the  fight. 

The  part  played  by  Dr.  Edson  in  this  contest  was  never  for- 
given by  Boott,  who  even  withdrew  from  the  church  in  which 
the  Doctor  officiated.  For  a  time,  none  of  the  corporation 
nabobs  would  have  anything  to  do  with  the  schools  thus 
erected  contrary  to  their  sovereign  will  and  pleasure.  It  was 
only  when  Henry  Clay  came  to  Lowell  that  their  High  Mighti- 
nesses were  graciously  pleased  to  let  the  light  of  their  coun- 
tenances shine  for  a  moment  on  the  benighted  little  Hottentots 
that  filled  the  North  and  South  Grammar  Schools. 


106  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

To  detail  in  full  the  history  of  all  the  schools  would  be 
tedious;  but  the  principal  schools  must  not  be  passed  unno- 
ticed; for,  as  Edward  Everett  observes,  "the  dedication  of 
a  new  first-class  school  house  is  at  all  times  an  event  of  far 
greater  importance  to  the  welfare  of  the  community  than  many 
of  the  occurrences  which  at  the  time  attract  much  more  of  the 
public  attention,  and  fill  a  larger  space  in  the  pages  of  history." 

In  December,  1831,  the  Lowell  High  School  was  opened  un- 
under  Thomas  M.  Clark,  now  Bishop  of  Rhode  Island,  as 
principal  teacher.  One  of  his  classes  contained  four  boys 
whose  subsequent  history  may  well  excite  pride  in  their 
teacher,  if  so  unsanctified  a  feelins:  ever  obtains  access  to 
the  episcopal  breast.  These  boys  were  Benjamin  F.  Butler, 
whose  exploits  have  been  recorded  with  fond  exaggeration  by 
Parton  ;  Gustavus  V.  Fox,  the  energetic  Assistant  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  during  the  War  ;  E.  A.  Straw,  the  efficient  Agent 
of  the  Amoskeag  Mills  at  Manchester  ;  and  George  L.  Balcom, 
of  Claremont,  one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  successful  men 
in  New  Hampshire. 

The  present  High  School  House  was  erected  in  1840,  and 
reconstructed  in  1867.  Mr.  Clark  was  succeeded  in  Septem- 
ber, 1833,  by  Nicholas  Hoppin  ;  in  August,  1834,  by  William 
Hall;  in  May,  1835,  by  Franklin  Forbes;  in  August  183G, 
by  Moody  Currier  ;  in  April,  1841,  by  Nchemiah  Cleaveland  ; 
in  July,  1842,  by  Mr.  Forbes  (again  ;)  and  in  July,  1845,  by 
Charles  C.  Chase,  who  has  ever  since  ably  and  worthily  sus- 
tained himself  at  the  head  of  the  Lowell  corps  of  teachers. 

On  February  18th,  1833,  the  South  Grammar  School-House 
was  opened,  and  two  schools  were  united  and  placed  in  it.  One 
was  the  school  of  what  had  been  the  fifth  district,  which,  since 
November  5th,  1827,  had  been  taught  by  Joshua  Merrill.  The 
school  thus  formed  was  the  same  that  afterward  took  the  name 
of  the  Ed  son  School.  Joshua  Merrill  had  charge  of  it  until 
October,  1845,='''  when  Perley  Balch  succeeded  him. 

*  In  1811  and  1812,  Mr.  Merrill  had  for  his  assistant  Theodore  H.  Sweetser , 
who  has  since  acquired  notoriety  by  his  success  at  the  Bar. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  1Q7 

In  1856,  this  edifice  was  reconstructed,  and  the  Washington 
School  consolidated  with  the  Edson,  This  Washington  School 
was  founded  March  24th,  1834,  kej^t  for  four  years  in  the 
North  School-House,  and  then  removed  to  the  South  School- 
House.  Its  principals  were  Nathaniel  D.  Healey  from  1834 
to  1835  ;  Samuel  S.  Dutton  and  Isaac  Whittier  in  1835  ; 
John  Butterfield  from  1835  to  1840;  Jonathan  Kimball  from 
1840  to  1851  ;  Albert  T.  Young  from  1851  to  1853  ;  P.  W. 
Kobertson  from  1853  to  185G. 

In  May,  1833,  the  North  Grammar  School-House  was  com- 
pleted, and  the  school,  which,  until  then,  had  occupied  the 
Merrimack  Company's  school-house,  was  moved  into  the  upper 
part  of  it,  and  has  continued  to  occupy  it  ever  since.  The 
principals  of  this  school  have  been — Joel  Lewis  from  1825  to 
1826  ;  Alfred  Y.  Bassett  from  1826  to  1829  ;  Walter  Abbott 
from  1829  to  1830  ;  Eeuben  Hills  from  1830  to  1835  ;  Jacob 
Graves  from  1835  to  1841;    G.  0.  Fairbanks  from  1841   to 

1842  ;  0.  C.  Wright  from  1842  to  1843  ;  Jacob  Graves  from 

1843  to  1847  ;  and  J.  P.  Fisk  from  1847  to  1856,  when  the 
edifice  was  reconstructed  and  Samuel  Bement  became  princi- 
pal. Originally  known  as  the  Merrimack  School,  on  beiug 
removed  in  1833  it  took  the  name  of  the  North  Grammar 
School,  which  it  retained  till  1850,  when  the  School  Com- 
mittee named  it  the  Hancock  School.  On  the  reconstruction 
of  the  building  in  1856,  this  school  received  the  name  of  the 
Bartlett  School,  in  honor  of  Dr.  Bartlett,  the  first  Mayor  of 
Lowell.  At  the  same  time,  the  Adams  School,  was  consoli- 
dated with  the  Bartlett.  The  Adams  was  opened  in  1836  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  North  Grammar  School-House.  Its  first 
principal  was  Otis  H.  Morrill,  to  whom  Samuel  Bement  suc- 
ceeded in  1851. 

The  City  Charter  of  1836  provided  that  the  School  Com- 
mittee should  consist  of  six  persons  specially  chosen,  in  addition 
to  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  ;    but  in  1856  the  Charter  was 


108  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

amended,  and  the  Aldermen  detaclied  from  the  School  Com- 
mittee, the  number  of  which  was  increased  to  twelve,  besides 
the  Mayor  and  the  President  of  the  Common  Council. 

The  Franklin  Grammar  School  dates  from  the  winter  of 
1839,  when  Kufus  Adams  opened  a  school  near  where  the 
Franklin  now  stands.  George  Spaulding  taught  here  from 
1840  to  1844,  when  Nelson  H.  Morse  succeeded  him.  The 
present  edifice  was  erected  in  1845,  and  remodeled  in  1863. 
In  1848,  Mr.  Morse  was  succeeded  first  by  Ephraim  Brown, 
and  afterward  by  Ephraim  W.  Young.  In  1849,  Amos  B. 
Heywood  was  placed  in  charge  of  this  school. 

On  January  8th,  1841,  the  Moody  Grammar  School  was 
opened  under  Seth  Pooler,  who  had  been  an  assistant  in  the 
Hio-h  School  since  1838,  and  who  continued  principal  of  the 
Moody  School  until    1856,   when  Joseph  Peabody  succeeded 

him. 

A  few  months  subsequent  to  the  opening  of  the  Moody 
School,  the  Green  School  was  opened.  Samuel  C.  Pratt  was 
principal  from  1841  to  1843;  Aaron  Walker,  Junior,  from 
1843  to  1845  ;  Charles  Morrill  from  1845  to  1866,  when  he 
was  chosen  Superintendent  of  Schools.  Charles  A.  Chase  suc- 
ceeded him. 

On  January  8th,  1844,  the  Mann  Grammar  School-House 
was  opened.  The  school  itself  had  existed  as  a  public  school 
ever  since  1835,  when  the  arrangement  for  comprehending  the 
Irish  schools  in  the  public  school  system  of  Lowell  was  first 
effected  by  the  School  Committee  and  Kev.  James  Connolly,^'^ 
the  Koman  Catholic  priest.  In  1839  another  school  was  con- 
solidated with  it  which  had  previously  been  in  charge  of  Daniel 

*  See  Reports  of  the  School  Committee,  183(5  and  1844 ;  Mrs,  Mann's  Life  of 
Horace  Mann,  p.  2(J2;  New  Englander,  April,  1848.  This  arrangement  was 
that  the  teachers  of  the  Irish  children's  s -hools  should  be  Roman  Catholics. 
They  were,  however,  to  he  subject  to  examination,  and  their  schools  to  visi- 
tation by  the  School  Committee,  in  the  same  manner  as  other  teachers  and 
schools.  In  a  few  years,  however,  the  jealousies  which  rendered  this  ar- 
rangement advisable,  subsided,  and  differences  of  creed  ceased  to  be  recog- 
nized in  any  form  in  connection  with  the  public  schools. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  109 

Mclllroy.  The  principals  of  the  present  Mann  School  have 
been — Patrick  Collins,  from  1835  to  1838;  Daniel  Mclllroy, 
from  1838  to  1841  ;  James  Egan,  from  1841  to  1843;  Michael 
Fljnn,  from  1843  to  1844  ;  George  W.  Shattuck,  from  1844  to 
1853.  P.  W.  Roberston  and  Albert  T.  Young  were  then  each 
in  charge  for  a  few  months;  but  before  the  close  of  1853, 
Samuel  A.  Chase  was  appointed  principal,  and  has  remained 
here  ever  since. 

On  December  13th,  1848,  the  Colburn  School  was  opened, 
when  Dr.  Edson  delivered  an  address,  full  of  interesting 
reminiscences  of  the  early  school  history  of  Lowell.  Aaron 
Walker,  Junior,  was  principal  from  1848  until  1864,  when 
Fidelia  0.  Dodge  succeeded  him. 

On  the  annexation  of  the  faubourg  of  Central ville  in  1851, 
the  Yarnum  School  was  opened.  A.  ^Y.  Boardman  was  prin- 
cipal during  the  two  first  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  D.  P. 
Galloupe.  Originally  kept  in  the  old  Academy  Building,  in 
1857,  it  was  removed  into  the  spacious  edifice  which  it  now 
occupies. 

In  1851,  the  School  Committee  established  Intermediate 
Schools  to  meet  the  wants  of  a  numerous  class  of  Irish  pupils, 
too  large  to  be  placed  to  the  Primaries,  and  too  backward  to  be 
admitted  to  the  Grammar  Schools.  But  in  ten  years  the  neces- 
sity which  called  these  schools  into  being,  was  no  longer  felt, 
and  they  were  consolidated  with  the  Grammar  Schools. 

In  1857,  two  free  Evening  Schools  which  had  previously 
been  conducted  by  the  Lowell  Missionary  Association,  were, 
by  vote  of  the  School  Committee,  comprehended  within  the 
public  school  system  of  Lowell.  In  1859,  there  were  six 
public  evening  schools — three  for  boys  and  three  for  girls — 
under  the  supervision  of  the  School  Committee. =-''  They  had 
two  sessions  per  week  and  imparted  instruction  to  about  five 
hundred  pupils.  If  any  schools  should  be  public  and  free, 
surely  the  evening  schools  of  the  industrious  uninstructed  poor 

*  Report  of  School  Committee,  1859,  pp.  28-31. 

10 


110  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

should  be  public  and  free.  Yet  these  have  been  suffered  to 
languish  and  die  ;  and  the  Missionary  Society  has  resumed 
the  work  which  properly  belonged  to  the  city. 

In  1858,  Mr.  James  G.  Carney  presented  one  hundred  dol- 
lars to  the  city,  upon  the  condition  that  the  interest  thereof 
shall  annually  be  appropriated  to  the  procuring  of  six  silver 
medals,  to  be  distributed  to  the  six  best  scholars  in  the  High 
School,  forever, — three  in  the  girls'  department  and  three  in 
boys'  department.  The  liberal  donation  was  accepted,  and  the 
faith  of  the  city  pledged  to  the  just  discharge  of  the  trust,- 
Such  was  the  origin  of  the  Carney  Medals,  which  will  continue 
to  be  striven  for  by  the  pupils  of  the  High  School  when  the 
dust  of  unnumbered  centuries  shall  cover  the  grave  of  their 
founder. 

In  1859,  the  experiment  of  a  Superintendent  of  Public 
Schools  was  first  tried  in  Lowell,  George  W.  Shattuck  being 
appointed  to  that  office.  But  toward  the  close  of  the  year  a 
popular  clamor  was  raised,  and  the  office  abolished.  It  was 
revived  in  1864,  when  Abner  J.  Phipps  was  made  Super- 
intendent. The  credit  of  the  revival  of  this  useful  and  neces- 
sary office  is  largely  due  to  the  School  Committee.  Mr.  Phipps 
was  succeeded  in  1866  by  Charles  Morrill. 

In  1863,  John  F.  McEvoy,  John  H.  McAlvin  and  others 
founded  the  Lowell  High  School  Association.  Annual  levees 
are  held  by  this  society,  whereat  the  lives,  adventures,  songs, 
services,  speeches,  hair-breadth  escapes  and  deeds  of  valor  by 
flood  and  field  of  the  past  pupils  of  the  High  School,  are 
commemorated  with  becoming  enthusiasm. 

The  public  educational  system  of  Lowell  now  consists  of 
one  high  school,  eight  grammar  schools,  and  forty-seven  pri- 
maries, which  would  probably  not  suffer  by  comparison  with 
the  schools  of  other  cities  in  New  England. 


*  See  Carney  Medal  Documents,  appended  to  the  Report  of  the  School 
Committee  of  1859. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  Ill 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

GENERAL    HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.       1835 1850. 

Marriage  and  Death  of  Enoch  W".  Freeman— Hannah  Kinney— Her  Trial  for 
Murder— Elias  Howe — James  C.  Ayer — Financial  Revulsion — Lowell  be- 
comes a  City— Death  of  Kirk  Boott— Market  House- Courts  in  Lowell- 
Death  of  Luther  Lawrence— Wendell  i'hillips— Lowell  Hospital— The 
Commons — Museum — The  Cjfe ring— Death  of  Sheriff  Varuum — Death  of 
President  Harrison  —  The  Cemetery — ]"ox  Populi — Charles  Dickens — 
William  Gra\es— President  Tyler— Webster  Incidents— City  Library — 
Elisha  Fuller— Henry  F.  Durant— Medical  Society— Dr.  Miles'  Book- 
Newspaper  Libels — John  G.  Whittiei- — Menimack  liiver  Fisheries — Judge 
Locke — Judge  Crosby — President  Polk — Death  of  Patrick  T.  Jackson — 
Northern  Canal — Abraham  Lincoln — Death  of  President  Taylor — Battle 
of  Suffolk  Bridge — Father  Mathew — Reservoir  on  Lynde's  Hill. 

"  The  Minister's  AVooing"  had  deeply  exercised  the  ladies 
of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  long  before  that  subject  employed 
the  pen  of  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe.  Church  Committees, 
Ex  Parte  Councils  and  Mutual  Councils  were  again  and  again 
appointed  to  consider  the  scandals  growing  out  of  the  court- 
ship of  Eev.  Enoch  AV.  Freeman  and  Hannah  Hanson.''-'  Mr. 
Freeman  was,  of  course,  sustained  ;  but  there  was  still  an 
undercurrent  of  discontent  in  the  church,  on  account  of  his 
connection  with  this  remarkable  woman.  She  was  a  native 
of  Lisbon,  in  Maine,  was  the  cousin  of  Mr.  Freeman,  and  had 
had  some  tender  correspondence  with  him  in  early  life.  In 
January,  1S22,  she  was  married  to  Ward  Witham,  at  her 
father's  house  in  Portland.  Four  children  were  the  fruit  of 
this  marriage,  which  proved  anything  but  a  happy  one.  In 
February,  1832,  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court,  sitting  at  Boston, 
granted  her  a  decree  of  divorce  from  the  bond  of  matrimony, 
on  account  of  the  criminality  of  Witham.  A  correspondence 
between  Mr.  Freeman  and  her  soon  afterward  commenced, 
which  culminated  in  their  marriage,  September  23rd,  1834. 
For   six  months  they   boarded   with    Mrs.   Charlotte  Butler, 

*  Life  of  Mrs.  Kinney,  liy  Herself. 


112  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

whose  son  Benjamin — the  future  pro-consul  of  New  Orleans — 
was  at  that  time  intended  for  the  Baptist  ministry.  As  Pope 
sighed 

"IIow  .sweet  au  Ovid  Ava.s  in  ^.fiuTay  los^t," 

so  may  others  lament  that  a  Boanerges  of  the  pulpit  was 
spoiled  in  Butler.  In  March,  1835,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Free- 
man made  a  visit  to  the  father  of  Mr.  Freeman,  in  Maine. 
During  that  visit,  the  elder  Freeman  suddenly  died,  exhihiting 
the  same  symptoms  which  were  aft-erward  observed  in  the  case 
of  his  son. 

Mrs.  Freeman  continued  to  be  the  subject  of  scandal  after 
her  marriage,  on  account  of  her  supposed  intimacy  with  George 
T.  Kinney  of  Boston,  who  had  assisted  her  in  obtaining  her 
divorce,  and  to  whom  she  was  said  to  have  been  engaged.  It 
was  said  that  Kinney  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  Mr.  Freeman's 
house,  and  that  he  was  there  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,'  Sep- 
tember 20th,  1835.  On  that  day,  after  morning  service,  Mr. 
Freeman  became  suddenly  ill,  and  experienced  repeated  vom- 
itings. He,  however,  returned  to  his  pulpit,  and  commenced 
the  afternoon  services,  but  was  unable  to  proceed,  and  returned 
to  his  house.  He  continued  to  grow  worse,  suffering  intense 
pain  internally,  until  five  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  fol- 
lowing Tuesday,  when  death  released  him  from  his  sufferings. 
He  was  thirty-seven  years  of  age,  and  had  been  married  ex- 
actly one  year.  He  was  a  most  uxorious  husband,  and  on  his 
death-bed  requested  that  all  his  wife's  children  by  Witham 
should  adopt  his  surname.  If  he  really  died  by  poison  admin- 
istered by  his  wife,  his  last  words  to  her — "  Never  feel  alone  ; 
I  shall  always  be  with  you" — must  have  come  home  with  ter- 
rible emphasis  to  her  depraved  soul. 

Just  as  he  closed  his  eyes  in  death,  he  was  asked  whether 
he  had  any  advice  to  leave  to  his  church.  He  replied,  "  Tell 
them  to  be  humble,  faithful,  zealous  and  united  in  love."  A 
post  mortem  examination  showed  his  stomach  to  have  been 
highly  inflamed,   but  the   contents  were   not   subjected  to   a 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  113 

chemical  analysis — no  suspicion  being  then  entertained  that 
the  death  was  caused  by  poison.  Mrs.  Freeman  appeared  to 
be  deeply  affected  by  her  bereavement.  One  week  subse- 
quently, she  was  confined.  She  remained  for  some  time  in 
Lowell,  keeping  a  milliner's  shop  on  Merrimack  street.  She 
afterward  removed  to  Boston,  from  whence -she  sent  a  weeping 
willow  to  be  planted  by  the  monument  erected  over  Mr.  Free- 
man's grave.  On  November  2Gth,  1836,  she  was  married  to 
George  T.  Kinney,  a  man  five  years  younger  than  herself — a 
drunkard,  a  roue  and  a  gambler.  On  August  10th,  1840, 
Kinney  died  in  a  manner  similar  to  Mr.  Freeman  ;  and  a  cor- 
oner's jury  found  that  his  death  was  caused  by  poison  admin- 
istered by  his  wife. 

Long  before  the  death  of  Kinney,  suspicions  had  been 
entertained  in  Lowell  that  there  had  been  foul  play  with  Mr. 
Freeman — that  his  wife  had  been  guilty  of  the  "deep  damna- 
tion of  his  taking  off."  In  consequence  of  these  suspicions, 
one  week  subsequent  to  the  death  of  Kinney,  Mr.  Freeman's 
remains  were  exhumed  in  the  Middlesex  street  burying-ground 
and  found  to  be  in  a  remarkable  state  of  preservation.  Many 
a  subject  has  been  used  to  illustrate  anatomical  lectures,  which 
was  more  decomposed  than  the  body  of  Mr.  Freeman. 

Immediately  after  Kinney's  funeral,  Mrs.  Kinney  made  a 
visit  to  some  of  his  friends  in  Thetford,  Vermont.  There  she 
was  arrested  and  taken  back  to  Boston  to  stand  her  trial  for 
murder.  On  her  way  thither  she  stopped  at  Lowell,  arriving 
here  on  Sunday  afternoon,  August  30th.  After  a  few  mo- 
ments' delay,  at  the  American  House,  she  again  left  in  the 
stage  for  Boston,  in  the  custody  of  an  officer.  Just  as  the 
stage  was  leaving,  the  congregation  to  whom  Mr.  Freeman  had 
ministered,  and  among  whom  she  had  once  moved  in  all  the 
dignity  of  a  pastor's  wife,  poured  along  the  streets  at  the  close 
of  their  afternoon  services.  With  what  emotion  they  gazed  on 
the  weeping  prisoner,  and  with  what  agony  she  met  their  gaze, 
it  is  easier  to  imagine  than  describe. 
10- 


114  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

The  trial  of  Mrs.  Kinney  for  the  murder  of  Kinney  began 
December  21st,  1840,  and  closed  on  Christmas  Day.  The 
defence  was  conducted  by  Franklin  Dexter  and  George  T. 
Curtis.  Although  she  was  acquitted  by  the  jury,  there  have 
always  been  persons  among  those  who  knew  her,  who  have 
persisted  in  believing  that  she  was  guilty,  — that  she  poisoned 
two  husbands  and  one  husband's  father, — in  short,  that  she 
was  an  American  Lucretia  Borgia.  But  while  the  deaths  of 
the  three  supposed  victims  are  most  easily  explained  upon  the 
hypothesis  of  poison,  the  total  absence  of  motive  on  the  part 
of  the  accused,  envelopes  each  case  in  the  gravest  doubt. 

In  1835,  Central  Village  contained  about  forty  dwelling 
houses.  Central  Village  Academy  was  incorporated  and  en- 
joyed a  flourishing  existence  for  some  years. 

It  was  in  1835  that  Elias  Howe,  Junior — then  a  boy  of 
sixteen — came  to  Lowell.  He  remained  here  two  years,  em- 
ployed in  building  cotton  machinery.  While  here,  he  proba- 
bly became  acquainted  with  the  experiments  which  John  A. 
Bradshaw  was  then  making  with  the  sewing  machine.  Nine 
years  later,  he  invented  the  famous  Lock-Stitch  Sewing  Ma- 
chine, for  which  he  obtained  a  patent  in  1846.  Little,  how- 
ever, did  he  appreciate  the  value  of  his  invention  ;  for  he 
offered  to  sell  his  patent  for  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars — 
a  patent  from  which  he  afterward  realized  half  a  million  dol- 
lars in  a  single  year  !     He  died  October  3rd,  1867,  at  Brooklyn. 

Among  the  crowds  that  took  up  their  abode  here  synchro- 
niously  with  Mr.  Howe,  was  a  slender  youth  of  seventeen 
summers,  who  now  stands  the  foremost  of  those  who  have 
achieved  wealth  and  fame  in  the  manufacture  of  patent  medi- 
cines. James  C.  Ayer  was  born  in  Groton,  Connecticut,  May 
5th,  1818,  exactly  six  months  earlier  than  his  friend  and 
fellow-citizen.  Gen.  Butler.  His  first  experiences  here  were 
in  the  family  of  his  uncle,  James  Cook,  and  in  the  High 
School.  As  the  ardent  boy  walked  occasionally  through  the 
Middlesex  mills,   (of  which  his  uncle  was  then  Agent,)   and 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  115 

saw  the  stockliolders  and  directors  in  all  their  pride  and  pre- 
tention, he  doubtless  hoped  that  the  time  would  come  when  he 
too  would  be  a  stockholder  and  a  director.  What  was  then  a 
dream  of  fancy  has  long  since  been  realized  as  a  fact. 

After  quitting  the  High  School,  and  studying  for  a  short 
time  in  the  Westford  Academy,  young  Ayer  entered  the  apoth- 
ecary shop  of  Jacob  Robbius,  where  he  devoted  much  of  his 
attention  to  chemistry.  In  1S43,  he  commenced  the  manu- 
facture of  medicines  for  popular  use.  The  result  of  his 
enterprise  is  the  mammoth  laboratory  of  which  an  account 
has  already  been  given. =•■'  The  first  machine  for  making  pills 
was  invented  by  him.  In  recognition  of  his  acquisitions  in 
chemistry  and  kindred  sciences,  in  1860,  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  in  Philadelphia,  conferred  on  him  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  Similarity  of  tastes  and  opinions  on 
various  points  brought  him  into  contact  with  Horace  Greeley  ; 
and  for  some  years  past.  Dr.  Ayer  has  been  the  largest  stock- 
holder in  the  New  York  Trihiine. 

The  people  of  Lowell  participated  with  their  fellow  citizens 
all  over  Xcw  England  in  the  mania  which  arose  prior  to  1835, 
first,  respecting  the  lands  in  Maine,  and  afterward  spreading 
till  it  inflated  the  prices  of  land  in  all  the  principal  cities  and 
towns  of  New  England.  Visionary  schemes  were  projected, 
castles  in  the  air  erected,  and  the  wildest  expectations  cher- 
ished that  large  fortunes  were  to  be  made  as  quickly  as  by 
the  seal  of  Solomon  or  the  lamp  of  Aladdin.  This  splendid 
bubble,  bursting  in  1837,  left  all  its  dupes  in  the  gulf  of 
penury.  When  the  commercial  history  of  this  country  shall 
be  written,  it  will  be  found  to  present  a  constant  series  of 
alternate  periods  of  wild  speculation,  and  periods  of  bank- 
ruptcy. When  business  has  been  good,  credits  have  been 
extended  too  far  ;  and  a  general  reaction  has  ensued.  But 
the  elastic  spirit  of  the  people  and  their  recuperative  energy 
have  always  saved  the  country  from  protracted  periods  of 
depression. 

*  Ante-^.  04. 


116  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

In  1835,  discussion  began  as  to  the  expediency  of  procuring 
a  city  charter ;  and  a  strong  party  in  favor  of  a  charter  was 
soon  formed.  On  the  seventeenth  of  February,  1836,  a  town 
meeting  was  held,  Joseph  W.  Mansur  presiding,  when  Luther 
Lawrence,  Chairman  of  a  Committee  previously  appointed  to 
consider  the  subject  of  a  city  government,  made  a  report.  In 
view  of  "the  number  of  our  inhabitants, — their  dissimilar 
habits,  manners  and  pursuits, — the  rapid  and  progressive  in- 
crease of  our  population, — the  variety  of  interest  and  the 
constant  changes  which  are  taking  place," — the  committee 
recommend  that  the  Legislature  be  petitioned  to  grant  a 
charter  to  make  the  town  a  city.  "  The  principal  defects  in 
the  operation"  of  the  town  government  are  stated  by  the 
Committee  to  be  ''  the  want  of  executive  power,  and  the  loose 
and  irresponsible  manner  in  which  money  for  municipal  pur- 
poses is  granted  and  expended."  =••' 

A  Committee,  of  which  Luther  Lawrence  was  Chairman, 
was  appointed  to  draft  a  Charter.  They  reported  at  an  ad- 
journed meeting,  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  the  same  month.  On 
the  eleventh  of  April,  the  Charter  was  formally  adopted,  in 
town  meeting,  by  a  vote  of  961  yeas  against  32S  nays. 

The  population  of  Lowell  was  then  17,633.  Benjamin 
Floyd,  the  author  of  the  ten  first  Lowell  Directories,  wildly 
predicted  that  in  ten  years  from  that  time,  Lowell  would 
contain  64,000  inhabitants  ;  and  in  twenty  years,  256,000  ! 

In  1836,  the  Lowell  Dispensary  was  incorporated.  This 
association  provides  medicines  and  medical  services  free  of 
charge  to  the  poor. 

As  illustrating  the  Puritanic  spirit  of  young  Lowell,  Chev- 
alier records  the  fact,  that  in  1836  a  man  was  fined  by  the 
municipal  authorities  for  exercising  the  trade  of  common  fid- 
dler ;  he  was  treated  as  if  he  had  outraged  the  public  morals. 

On  the  eleventh  of  April,  1837,  the  hand  that  had  so  long 
and  so  ably  guided  the  aff"airs  of  Lowell  was  suddenly  with- 

*Towii  Records,  voL  1,  p.  30i. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  117 

drawn  : — Kirk  Boott  dropped  dead  from  his  chaise  in  the  street. 
A  chronic  disease  of  the  spine,  contracted  "  on  the  tented 
field,"  was  doubtless  the  cause  of  his  sudden  demise.  As 
Agent  of  the  Merrimack,  and  of  the  Locks  and  Canals,  and 
as  a  citizen,  participating  in  every  local  enterprise,  he  had 
been  the  great  propelling  power  of  Lowell  ever  since  the 
building  of  the  city  began.  Many  a  crisis  has  since  arisen 
when  the  counsel  and  influence  of  another  Boott  would  have 
been  received  with  grateful  enthusiasm.  We  have  sighed, 
and  sighed  again,  "  0,  for  the  Coming  Man  !  "  But  the  Com- 
ing Man  has  never  come ;  and  of  Kirk  Boott  we  may  truly 
say — "  We  ne'er  shall  look  upon  his  like  again." 

In  May,  1837,  all  the  banks  in  the  United  States  sus- 
pended specie  payments.  Their  paper  depreciated  on  an 
average  twelve  per  cent.  The  commerce  and  industry  of  the 
country,  so  long  suspended  upon  the  Dsedalian  wings  of  paper 
money,  were  prostrated.  But  through  the  judicious  manage- 
ment of  the  corporations,  Lowell  suffered  little  from  the  gen- 
eral paralysis. 

In  1837,  the  city  government  committed  its  first  great 
blunder — in  building  the  Market  House.  It  is  the  fixed 
habit  of  the  people  to  have  their  meat  brought  by  butchers 
to  their  doors.  To  expect  to  change  their  habits  by  merely 
building  a  market  house,  was  grossly  absurd.  Of  course  the 
experiment  failed. 

In  the  same  year,  the  Legislature  established  an  annual 
term  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court,  and  a  term  of  the  Com- 
mon Pleas,  at  Lowell.  A  county  jail,  on  the  modern  plan  of 
separate  cells,  was  erected  in  1838,  and  in  the  same  year,  the 
Nashua  and  Lowell  Railroad  was  opened  for  travel  and  the 
transportation  of  freight. 

On  the  seventeeth  of  Aprils  1839,  Luther  Lawrence,  the 
second  in  the  succession  of  our  Mayors,  was  suddenly  killed, 
by  falling  a  distance  of  seventeen  feet,  into  a  wheel-pit  in  one 
of  the  Middlesex  mills,  and  fracturing  his  skull.     He  was  the 


118  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

son  of  Samuel  Lawrence,  a  major  of  the  Eevolution,  and  the 
oldest  brother  of  Abbott,  Amos,  William  and  Samuel  Law- 
rence, who  were  all  intimately  associated  with  the  manufac- 
turing interests  of  Lowell.  He  was  born  at  Groton,  Sei^tember 
28th,  1778,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  in  ISO  1.  He  studied 
law  with  Timothy  Bigelow,  whose  sister  he  afterward  married. 
He  commenced  practice  in  Groton,  where  he  soon  gathered 
round  him  a  host  of  valuable  clients.  He  repeatedly  repre- 
sented his  native  town  in  the  Legislature,  and  was  Speaker  of 
of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives  in  1821  and  1822.  At  the 
earnest  solicitation  of  his  brothers  who  had  largely  invested 
in  the  mills  here,  he  removed  to  Lowell,  in  1831,  and  engaged 
in  practice,  first  with  Elisha  Glidden,  and  afterward  with 
Thomas  Hopkinson.  In  1838,  he  was  elected  JSIayor,  and 
re-elected  in  1839.  In  sixteen  days  after  his  second  inaug- 
uration, the  accident  occurred  which  deprived  Lowell  of  one  of 
the  ablest  and  worthiest  of  her  adopted  sons.  This  shocking 
catastrophe  filled  the  community  with  mourning ;  and  prepa- 
rations were  made  for  a  grand  public  funeral ;  but  this,  the 
family  of  Mr.  Lawrence  modestly  declined.  Appropriate  reso- 
lutions were  passed  by  the  City  Council,  bearing  testimony  to 
his  high-minded  and  honorable  character, — his  judicious  ad- 
ministration of  the  city  government, — his  lively  interest  in  the 
various  public  institutions  with  which  he  had  been  connected, 
— his  unselfishness  and  liberality, — his  efforts  to  promote  the 
moral  and  religious  interests  of  the  place, — his  amenity  of 
behavior,  and  kindliness  of  feeling  for  all  around  him.  His 
remains  were  interred  in  the  cemetery  of  his  native  town. 

Among  the  students  who  graduated  from  the  law-ofiice  of 
Lawrence  &  Hopkinson,  we  must  mention  one,  richly  gifted 
and  highly  accomplished,  who,  with  that  loftiness  of  soul  that 
marks  the  hero  or  the  martyr,  early  turned  his  back  on  all 
the  common  prizes  of  life,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  sup- 
pression of  intemperance,  the  enfranchisement  of  woman,  and 


HISTORY    or    LOWELL.  119 

the  emancipation  of  the  slave — Wendell  Phillips.  The  fol- 
lowing interesting  reminiscences  of  his  sojourn  in  Lowell  have 
been  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  Phillips  himself: — 

"  Somewhere  about  October,  1833,  I  went  (from  the  Cambridge  Law 
School)  to  Lowell  to  finish  the  study  of  law  and  see  pi*actice  in  the  office  of 
Luther  Lawrence.  His  partner  had  been  Elisha  Glidden,  a  most  estimable 
man  and  a  good  lawyer.  But  at  that  time  his  partner  was  Thomas  Ilopkin- 
son,  afterward  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  President  of  the 
Boston  and  Worcester  Railroad.  Mr.  Hopkinson  was  one  of  the  ablest  men 
in  the  Commonwealth — thorough  and  exact  in  his  knowledge  of  law,  well 
read  in  general  literature,  and  of  the  highest  toned  integi'ity.  Mr.  Lawrence 
was  a  gentlemanly,  kind-hearted  man,  with  the  popular  manners  of  his  fam- 
ily, public  spirited,  and  well  fitted  for  county  practice. 

"  I  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  at  Concord  in  the  fall  of  18.34,*  and  left  Lowell 
immediately." 

Carlyle  tells  us,  "  Genius  is  always  lonely, — lonely  as  to  its 
outward  condition  in  its  first  years  only, — lonely  in  its  heart 
forever."  But  proofs  are  abundant,  that  Mr.  Phillips,  though 
unquestionably  a  man  of  high  genius,  entered  con  amore  into 
society  here,  and  engaged  with  zest  in  the  amicable  rivalry 
between  the  two  leading  social  clubs  of  his  time,  one  called 
**  the  Sociables,"  the  other  "  the  Agreeables."  Two  or  three 
spirited  articles  were  contributed  to  the  Journal  by  him, 
touching  the  competition  of  these  clubs  for  the  palm  of  supe- 
riority in  wit,  culture  and  refinement.  Of  Lowell  society  in 
his  time,  Mr.  Phillips  presents  us  with  the  following  graphic 
sketch  : — 

"  Lowell  Avas  then  crowded  with  able  men — well  read  lawyers  and  suc- 
cessful with  a  jury;  among  them,  scholarly,  eloquent,  deeply  read  in  his 
profession,  and  a  <7eji/?is,  was  John  P.  Kobinson.  The  city  was  rich  in  all 
that  makes  good  society — amial)le,  beautiful  and  accomplished  women, — 
hospitable  and  amply  able  to  contribute  their  full  share  to  interesting  and 
suggestive  conversation, — gentlemen  of  talent,  energetic,  well-informed,  and 
giving  a  hearty  welcome  to  the  best  thought  of  the  day.  The  changes  that 
thirty  years  have  made  in  that  circle  would  afl'ord  matter  for  a  history  deeply 
interesting  and  veiy  largely  sad." 

In  addition  to  the  lawyers  mentioned  by  Mr.  Phillips,  among 
Mr.  Lawrence's  contemporaries  at  the  Bar,  were  Seth  Ames, 
Isaac  0.  Barnes,  Elisha  and  William  Puller,  Samuel  I .  Haven , 

*  Horatio  G.  F.  Corliss  was  admitted  and  sworn  as  an  attorney  at  the 
same  term, — on  September  9th,  1834. 


120  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

William  T.  Heydock,  William  and  Frartcis  Hilliard,  Samuel 
H.  Mann,  Horatio  C.  Merriam.  the  Olcutts,  Barzillai  Streeter, 
Amos  Spaulding  and  Nathaniel  Wright,  besides  several  who 
are  still  in  practice  here. 

In  1839,  the  commodious  edifice  in  which  Kirk  Boott  and 
Luther  Lawrence  had  successively  resided,  was  purchased  by 
the  manufacturing  companies,  and  devoted  to  the  use  of  the 
sick  in  their  employ.  The  Lowell  Hospital  Association  was 
organized  in  1840,  for  the  purpose  of  managing  it.  The  situ- 
ation of  the  Lowell  Hospital,  near  Pawtucket  Falls,  is  beauti- 
ful, retired  and  commanding.  The  buildings  are  surrounded 
by  trees,  shrubbery  and  climbing  vines.  As  that  good  man, 
Thomas  H.  Perkins, — the  early  patron  and  life-long  friend  of 
Daniel  Webster, — gave  his  private  residence  as  an  asylum  for 
the  blind, — how  well  would  Mr.  Boott,  were  he  now  among 
the  living,  approve  of  this  appropriation  of  his  house  as  a 
hospital  for  the  sick  operatives  of  the  mills  !  This  Hospital 
was  placed  under  the  medical  superintendance  of  Dr.  Gilman 
Kimball,  who  retained  charge  of  it  until  1865,  when  Dr.  George 
H.  Whitmore  succeeded  him.  The  best  accommodations  are 
here  provided  for  the  sick  and  homeless  operative, — at  an  ex- 
pense but  little  exceeding  the  cost  of  board,  to  those  who  have 
means, — and  gratuitously  to  those  who  have  not. 

From  the  same  year  dates  the  Lowell  Horticultural  Society. 

In  1840,  two  public  commons  were  laid  out;  the  South 
Common  covering  about  twenty  acres  of  land,  and  the  North 
Common  about  ten  acres. 

Several  attempts  had  heretofore  been  made  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  theatre  or  museum  in  Lowell,  but  had  failed. 
In  1840,  this  project  was  renewed  with  better  success.  The 
Museum  was  first  started  in  the  fourth  story  of  Wyman's 
Exchange,  by  Moses  Kimball,  now  of  the  Boston  Museum. 
The  first  performance  was  on  July  4th,  1840,  and  was  an 
excellent  substitute  for  the  hlarny  usually  indulged  in  on  that 
day.       The  first  collection  of  curiosities  was  procured   from 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  121 

Greenwood's  old  New  England  Museum  in  Boston.  But  the 
business  did  not  pay.  In  1845,  Noah  F.  Gates  purchased 
the  Museum  of  Mr.  Kimball ;  and  the  removal  by  him,  in 
1846,  of  the  Museuui  into  the  building  formerly  owned  by  the 
First  Freewill  Baptist  Church,  provoked  "strong  indignation 
in  Zion."  The  church  was  at  once  fitted  up  for  dramatic 
entertainments  ;  but  so  great  was  the  opposition  to  it,  that  in 
1847  the  City  Council  refused  to  license  any  more  exhibitions 
of  this  kind. 

A  petition,  signed  by  twenty-two  hundred  legal  voters,  was 
hereupon  presented  to  the  City  Council,  praying  for  a  renewal 
of  the  license.  A  prolix  debate  on  the  moral  tendency  of 
the  drama  ensued  before  the  City  Council.  John  P.  Kobinson 
and  Thomas  Hopkinson  appeared  in  behalf  of  the  petitioners ; 
while  Rev.  Messrs.  Thurston  and  True  argued  against  the 
drama  on  "  Bible  grounds."  The  debate  ended  by  the  grant- 
ing of  the  license  as  desired.  The  Museum  was  incorporated 
in  1850,  with  a  capital  of  sixty  thousand  dollars  ;  but  it  was 
shortly  afterward  destroyed  by  fire.  Between  1845  and  1851 
it  flourished  ;  but  after  1.S51,  it  passed  through  various  hands, 
and  rapidly  declined.  In  1853,  it  was  again  burned.  It  was, 
however,  subsequently  reopened,  and  carried  on  till  the  thir- 
tieth day  of  January,  185(3,  when  not  a  vestige  escaped  the 
third  attack  of  the  devouring  flames.  During  the  period  of 
its  prosperity,  it  found  employ  for  some  thirty  persons,  and 
its  salaries  averaged  over  three  hundred  dollars  per  week. 
Some  of  the  best  plays  of  the  ablest  dramatists  were  success- 
fully introduced.  The  stock  companies  were  superior  to  those 
of  most  country  theatres  ;  and  some  of  the  brightest  "  stars  " 
in  the  Thespian  firmament  appeared  upon  its  boards. 

In  October,  1840,  appeared  the  Lowell  Offering,  a  monthly 
journal  edited  by  Miss  Harriet  Farley,  and  Miss  Hariot  Cur- 
tiss,  two  factory  girls.  The  pages  of  the  Offering  were  filled 
11 


122  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

exclusively  by  ihe  contributions,  in  prose  and  verse,  of  women 
and  girls  employed  in  the  mills. 

"As  the  weaver  plied  the  shuttle,  wove  she  too  the  mystic  rhyme." 

Frederick  tbe  Great  tboiight  the  Nibeluugen  Lied  "  not 
worth  a  charge  of  powder,"  and  he  could  hardly  regard  the 
Offering  as  of  higher  merit  than  that  immortal  lay.  Never- 
theless, the  singularity  of  its  origin  attracted  great  attention 
to  the  Offering,  and  for  a  time  it  had  a  wide  circulation.  It 
won  the  praise  of  John  G.  Whittier  and  Charles  Dickens,  and 
«*  praise  from  the  praised  "  is  honor  indeed.  "In  its  volumes," 
says  Whittier,  "may  be  found  sprightly  delineations  of  home 
scenes  and  characters,  highly-wrought  imaginative  pieces,  tales 
of  genuine  pathos  and  humor,  and  pleasing  fairy  stories  and 
fables."  =-> 

On  the  eleventh  of  January,  1841,  Benjamin  F.  Varnum, 
Sheriff  of  Middlesex  County,  died  at  his  home  in  Central- 
ville.  He  was  born  in  Dracut,  in  1795,  and  was  the  son  of 
Gen.  Joseph  B.  Varnum.  He  was  a  Representative  in  the 
State  Legislature  from  1824  to  1827,  and  a  Senator  from  1827 
to  1831.  When  the  Court  of  Sessions  was  abolished,  and  the 
Board  of  County  Commissioners  established,  in  1828,  he  was 
appointed  one  of  the  Commissioners,  and  continued  a  member 
of  the  Board  until  his  appointment  as  sheriff  in  1881, — suc- 
ceeding Gen.  Nathaniel  Austin.  Like  his  father  before  him, 
lie  was  continually  employed  in  the  public  service,  and  his 
-conduct  commanded  the  approbation  and  respect  of  his  con- 
stituents. 

He  was  succeeded  in  the  sheriffship  by  Gen.  Samuel  Chand- 
ler, of  Lexington.  Like  Varnum,  Sheriff  Chandler  continued 
in  office  ten  years,  and  was  succeeded  in  1851,  by  Fisher  A. 
Hildreth.  John  S.  Keyes  was  appointed  sheriff  in  1853,  and 
continued  in  office  till  1860,  when  Charles  Kimball  succeeded 
iim. 

*  Whittief's  Miscellanies,  p.  427. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  123 

On  the  seventh  of  April,  1841,  all  the  bells  In  the  city 
■vrere  draped  in  mourning,  and  tolled  an  hour,  from  twelve 
o'clock  till  one,  in  observance  of  the  death  of  President  Har- 
rison. On  Friday,  the  fourteenth  of  May, — that  day  having 
been  designated  by  the  President  as  a  National  Fast-day, — 
all  business  was  suspended,  and  the  obse(|uies  of  the  deceased 
President  appropriately  solemnized.  Many  buildings,  both 
public  and  private,  were  draped  in  sable.  A.  long  procession 
moved  through  the  principal  streets,  composed  of  citizens, 
without  distinction  of  party,  in  funereal  garb.  In  the  absence 
of  Caleb  Gushing,  the  appointed  orator,  Eev.  Dr.  Blanchard 
delivered  an  extemporaneous  eulogy.  A  solemn  torch-light 
procession  in  the  evening  closed  the  ceremonies  of  this  Na- 
tional Fast-day. 

It  was  during  this  3^ear  that  the  Cemetery  was  established. 
For  this  "garden  of  graves,"  covering  about  forty-five  acres, 
Lowell  is  largely  indebted  to  Oliver  M.  Whipple,  who  has 
been  President  of  the  Association  ever  since  its  organization. 
The  Cemetery  is  situated  on  the  east  bank  of  Concord  Eiver, 
one  mile  from  the  centre  of  the  city.  The  topographical  sur- 
vey was  made  under  the  direction  of  George  P.  Worcester. 
The  grounds  are  laid  out  after  the  French  style,  combining 
therewith  somewhat  of  the  English  mode  of  landscape  garden- 
ing. Long,  serpentine  avenues,  shaded  by  forest  trees,  inter- 
sect this  sacred  enclosure.  In  the  central  part  of  the  Cemetery. 
in  a  group  of  young  trees,  stands  a  small,  Gothic  chapel,  in 
imitation  of  Pere  la  Chaise,  and  other  celebrated  burial  places 
in  Europe.  The  consecration  of  this  cemetery  took  place  on 
Sunday,  June  20th,  1841.  Rev.  Dr.  Blanchard  delivered  the 
address,  which,  for  "its  appropriate  extent  of  subjects,  rich- 
ness of  thought,  and  felicity  of  expression,"  is  said  to  have 
been  rarely  equaled  on  any  similar  occasion. 

Until  1841,  there  had  been  no  substantial  bridge  over  Con- 
cord Piiver,  connecting  Church  and  Andover  streets.  The  first 
structure  was  a  floating  bridge  for  foot-passers.     The  next  was 


124  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

a  bridge  set  upon  piles.  But  in  the  year  above  named,  a 
double-arch  stone  bridge  was  constructed,  which  in  ISoS  was 
re-placed  by  the  present  single-arch  structure. 

In  1841,  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  Henry  F.  Durant,  James  M. 
Stone,  Granville  Parker  and  others,  embarked  in  a  sensational 
enterprise  combining  journalism,  politics  and  reform.  As  the 
organ  of  the  new  movement,  Augustus  A.  Cheever  established  a 
weekly  newspaper  called  Vox  Popvli.  It  was  not  expected  that 
the  Vex  would  become  a  permanent  journal :  all  that  w^as  con- 
templated was  a  temporary  organ  for  those  who  felt  like  the 
Rev.  Sidney  Smith,  that  they  must  write  or  hurst  !  A  vigorous 
battle  was  waged  against  all  the  abuses  that  flourished  under 
the  Whig  dynasty  in  Massachusetts,  and  especially  against  the 
illiberality  then  often  exhibited  in  the  management  of  our 
corporations.  The  Vox  created  a  great  sensation  ;  and  the 
aspiring  attorneys  at  once  acquired  a  notoriety  which  proved 
to  some  of  them  the  stepping-stone  to  fame. 

.Tosiah  G.  Abbott,  then  in  the  Senate  from  Lowell,  having, 
in  common  with  other  Democrats,  a  bitter  feud  with  Eliphalet 
Case,  who  controlled  the  Advertiser,  was  anxious  to  have  a 
journal  with  which  to  fight  Mr.  Case.  Upon  his  suggestion, 
Samuel  J.  Yarney  purchased  the  Vox,  fought  out  the  campaign 
against  Case,  and  then  continued  the  paper  as  a  permanent 
journal.  The  Vox  has  never  wholly  forgotten  its  origin,  but 
even  now  occasionally  evinces  a  disposition  to  renew  the  strug- 
gle in  which  it  first  won  its  spurs.  Among  those  who,  at  diife- 
rent  times,  have  presided  over  the  columns  of  the  Vox,  we  may 
mention  (besides  Mr.  Varney)  A.  B.  Farr,  J.  F.  C.  Hayes,  B. 
F.  Johnson,  Enoch  Emery,  J.  T.  Chesley,  Thomas  Bradley  and 
Z.  E.  Stone,  the  present  editor. 

In  January,  1842.  Charles  Dickens  made  "a  flying  visit"  to 
Lowell  from  Boston.  The  chapter  in  his  "American  Notes," 
in  which  he  presents  the  results  of  this  trip,  shows  with  what 
rapidity  a  man  of  genius  can  grasp  all  that  is  most  character- 
istic in  a  community  of  which  he  has  caught  but  a  passing 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  125 

glimpse.  An  agreeable  surprise  was  experienced  by  Mrs. 
Dickens,  who  found  in  the  wife  of  Dr.  Kimball,  a  lady  who 
had  once  been  her  schoolmate  at  Edinburg.  Neither  of  these 
ladies  had  known  what  ticket  in  the  lottery  of  life  had  been 
drawn  by  the  other. 

On  April  1st,  1843,  died  Dr.  William  Graves,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  among  the  physicians  and  surgeons  of  the 
early  days  of  Lowell.  He  commenced  practice  here  in  1826. 
He  had  previously  practiced  at  Deerfield  in  Xew  Hampshire. 
He  was  a  descendent  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  and  was  the  father 
of  Dr.  John  W.  Graves,  who  for  many  years  practiced  his 
profession  in  Lowell,  and  who  has  long  had  charge  of  the 
United  States  Marine  Hospital  in  Chelsea. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  June,  1843,  John  Tyler,  President  of 
the  United  States,  made  a  public  visit  to  Lowell,  accompanied 
by  Abbott  Lawrence,  Isaac  Hill,  John  Tyler,  Junior,  and 
•  others.  The  boys  and  girls  of  the  High  School,  with  their 
teachers, — together  with  the  military  companies,  and  a  caval- 
cade of  the  citizens. — formed  his  escort;  and  the  usual  public 
greetings  took  place.  Before  leaving  Lowell,  the  President 
and  suite  visited  the  works  of  the  Middlesex,  Lowell,  P)Oott, 
and  Merrimack  companies,  and  expressed  much  gratification 
with  the  novel  and  marvellous  scenes  exhibited  to  them. 

At  the  October  Term  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  held  in 
Lowell,  in  1843,  the  famous  case  of  the  Commonwealth  versus 
Wyman  =  '=  was  tried.  Daniel  Webster,  Rufus  Choate  and  others 
appeared  as  counsel.  An  incident  occurred  in  the  course  of 
the  trial,  which,  perhaps,  may  deserve  a  place  in  this  history,. 
— being  particularly  illustrative  of  the  tenacity  with  which 
Mr.  Webster  adhered  to  whatever  position  he  might  assume. 

While  engaged  in  some  by-play  with  Mr.  Choate,  Mr.  Web- 
ster wrote  upon  a  slip  of  paper  the  following  couplet  from 
Pope,  and  then  handed  the  slip  to  Mr.  Choate  : — 

"Lo!  where  Mcotis  sleeps,  and  softly  flows, 
The  freezing  Tanais  through  a  waste  of  snows  .'^ 

*8Metcalf's  Reports,  pp.  2i7-297.  ~  ~~^ 

11* 


126  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL, 

Mr.  Choate  at  once  took  exception  to  the  word  "softly," 
which,  he  said,  should  read  "hardly,"  and  objected  to  this 
"rendering"  of  the  poet.  Mr.  Webster  stoutly  affirmed  that 
he  had  quoted  the  lines  as  Pope  wrote  them,  and  there- 
fore needed  no  lecture  on  the  duty  of  the  correct  citation  of 
authors.  A  copy  of  Pope  was  procured,  which  settled  the 
question  adversely  to  Mr.  AVebster.  He  took  up  the  book, — 
read  the  lines  deliberately, — sat  down, — turned  to  the  fly-leaf 
of  the  volume, — and  there  wrote 

"  Spurious  Edition  of  Pope.— DANIEL  WEBSTER." 

It  was  during  this  trial  that  Webster  had  his  famous  "  pas- 
sage" with  Judge  Charles  Allen.  In  his  closing  argument  for 
the  defendant,  Mr.  Webster  advanced  certain  propositions  as 
principles  of  law,  which  were  highly  favorable  to  his  client, 
and  evinced  a  desire  that  the  jury  should  accept  them  upon 
his  personal  authority.  But  the  judge,  in  charging,  cautioned 
the  jury,  that,  however  eminent  the  counsel,  and  however  hum- 
ble the  Court,  they  must  take  the  law,  not  from  the  counsel, 
but  from  the  Court ;  and  he  observed  that,  in  this  case,  the 
counsel  had  advocated  propositions  of  law  which  they  them- 
selves knew  to  be  erroneous.  Mr.  Webster  dissented  and  at- 
tempted to  explain.  The  judge  said,  rather  sharply,  "I  don't 
wish  to  be  interrupted."  Mr.  Webster  promptly  replied, 
"  Neither  do  I  wish  to  be  misrepresented." 

The  judge  resumed.     Mr.  Webster  also  resuming,  the  judge 
said  in  a  peremptory  tone,   "  The  Court  cannot  be  interrupted, 
sir."     Mr.  Webster,  in  a  tone  equally  peremptory,  rejoined, 
"Neither  can  I  be  misrepresented,  your  Honor." 
The  Court—"  Sit  down,  Mr.  W^ebster." 
Mr.  Webster — "I  won't  sit  down,  your  Honor." 
Thereupon  the  judge  himself  sat  down,  and  Mr.  Webster 
moved  toward  the  door,  but  shortly  returned,  and  gracefully 
apologized  for  his  interruptions.  =■••' 

*Law  Eeporter,  January,  1844. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  127 

In  1S44,  was  instituted  the  City  Library,  which  now  con- 
tains twelve  thousand  volumes.  Its  Board  of  Directors  and 
its  Librarian  are  chosen  annually  by  the  City  Council. 

In  1844,  Elisha  Fuller,  who  had  practiced  law  here  during 
twelve  years,  removed  to  Worcester,  where,  in  March,  1855, 
he  died.  He  was  born  in  1795,  and  was  the  youngest  of  five 
brothers,  all  of  whom  were  lawyers, — namely :  Timothy  Ful- 
ler of  Groton,  father  of  Margaret  Fuller  Ossoli,  and  Represen- 
tative in  Congress  ;  Abraham  W.  Fuller  of  Boston  ;  Henry  H. 
Fuller  also  of  Boston,  who  came  to  Lowell  in  1834  to  advocate 
before  the  people  the  annexation  of  Belvidere,  and  to  denounce 
Kirk  Boott,  who  had  thrown  the  weight  of  his  great  influence 
against  the  annexation  of  that  fine  faubourg  to  Lowell;  and 
William  W.  Fuller,  who  practiced  in  this  city  about  eight 
years,  and  then  removed  to  Illinois,  where  he  died  in  1849. 
It  was  largely  through  the  influence  of  Elisha  Fuller  that 
Edward  Everett  was  elected  Eepresentative  in  Congress  in 
1826,  in  opposition  to  John  Keyes  of  Concord.  Mr.  Fuller 
was  then  in  practice  in  Concord,  and  would  not  submit  to  the 
domination  of  the  old  Concord  clique,  which  so  long  controlled 
the  politics  of  Middlesex  County. 

A  few  months  subsequent  to  Mr.  Fuller's  departure,  another 
Lowell  lawyer,  Henry  F.  Durant,  removed  to  Boston.  Few 
lawyers  have  practiced  here,  more  noted  for  moral  hardihood 
than  Mr.  Durant.  Any  man  would  have  been  deemed  a  lunatic, 
who  should  then  have  predicted — what  has  actually  come  to  pass 
— that,  twenty  years  later,  "  that  felt-footed  young  man,"  as 
Ch^ate  once  st3''led  him,  would  return  to  Lowell,  not  to  elim- 
inate some  scoundrel-client  from  the  meshes  of  the  law,  but  to 
stand  in  the  pulpit  of  Dr.  Blanchard,  to  exhort  the  assembled 
multitude  to  cease  the  mad  pursuit  of  sin,  and  live  for  purer 
purposes,  and  lay  hold  on  higher  hopes  ! 

In  1845,  the  Middlesex  Xorth  District  Medical  Society  was 
organized,  being  one  of  the  auxiliaries  of  the  Massachusetts 
Medical  Society.      The  necessity  of  an  institution  to  elevate 


128  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

the  medical  gentlemen  of  Lowell,  in  respect  to  personal  char- 
acter and  professional  attainments,  had  long  been  felt,  and  is 
still  felt,  by  all  who  have  the  true  dignity  of  the  profession 
at  heart.  This  necessity,  however,  has  never  been  supplied. 
The  Medical  Society  has  wholly  failed  to  meet  it.  Partly, 
doubtless,  on  account  of  the  ever-changing  character  of  her 
population,  Lowell  has  always  been  an  attractive  field  for 
quacks.  Not  to  mention  political  quacks,  who  are  common 
everywhere,  we  have  had  quacks  of  one  class,  who  have  flour- 
ished at  the  bar ;  we  have  had  quacks  of  another  class,  not 
less  numerous,  who  have  flourished  in  the  pulpit ;  but  the 
faculty  most  prolific  in  quacks  is  the  faculty  of  physic.  Here 
the  vender  of  every  nostrum,  the  empiric,  and  the  abortionist, 
have  reaped  a  luxurious  harvest.  Not  a  year  has  passed  dur- 
ing the  last  six  lustrums,  that  has  not  witnessed  the  slaughter 
of  more  innocents  in  Lowell  than  Herod  slew  in  Bethlehem. 

In  1845,  Eev.  Dr.  Miles  published  his  "Lowell  as  it  Was 
and  as  it  Is."  The  reader  of  that  book  must  not  censure  its 
author  too  harshly,  for  the  colour  de  rose  which  he  has  so 
freely  used  in  his  pictures  of  the  corporations.  At  the  time  he 
wrote  and  for  several  lustrums  afterward,  "  it  was  a  favorite 
belief  with  the  American  people,  that  corporations  were  the 
most  efficient  agents  of  production,  even  where  the  work  was 
not  so  great  as  to  be  beyond  individual  enterprise.  The  older 
wisdom  of  the  country  turns  more  and  more  to  the  smaller 
establishments,  which  secure  full,  interested,  personal  super- 
vision of  labor.  The  English  economy  has  always  preferred 
this,  except  where  the  operations  were  beyond  the  reach  of 
ordinary  capital."  "=  Moreover,  some  of  the  best  thinkers  that 
have  lived  in  Lowell,  including  men  of  all  parties,  have  enter- 
tained these  riper  views.  Among  these  may  be  named  Josiah 
G.  Abbott,  Benjamin  L.  Butler,  Joshua  W.  Daniels,  Henry  F. 
Durant,  Eliphalet  Case,  Lisher  A.  Hildreth,  Thomas  Hopkin- 

*  Walker's  Science  of  Wealth,  p.  G9. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  129 

son,  Paul  E.  George,  William  Livingston,  Joshua  Mather,  John 
Nesmith,  John  D.  Prince,  Oliver  M.  Whipple  and  John  Wright. 
Dr.  J.  C.  Ayer  contributed  largely  to  revolutionize  the  common 
opinion  by  his  pungent  pamphlet  on  the  "  Uses  and  Abuses 
in  the  Management  of  our  Manufacturing  Corporations,"  in 
which  he  exposed,  with  just  severity,  the  cliqueism,  nepotism, 
and  imbecility  of  certain  corporation  "rings." 

In  1845,  was  found  the  first  indictment  against  a  Lowell 
journalist  for  libel.  Samuel  J.  Varney,  editor  of  Vox  Populi 
was  charged  with  a  libel  on  Jacob  Currier,  a  Lieutenant  in 
the  Array  ;  but  the  case  was  never  tried.  In  the  year  follow- 
ing, John  C.  Palmer,  editor  of  Life  in  Lowell,  was  indicted 
for  a  libel  on  George  D.  Hodges,  and  tried,  but  found  not 
guilty,  A  vitiated  press  is  one  of  the  worst  of  moral  pests. 
For  some  years,  the  scurrility  of  all  the  local  journals  was 
disgraceful,  not  only  to  the  editors,  but  to  the  people  who 
tolerated  and  supported  such  organs.  The  Bar  caught  the 
infection,  and  about  this  time  the  grand  jury  seldom  sat  with- 
out plastering  some  of  its  members  with  criminal  indictments 
— none  but  the  most  obscure  being  exempted. 

In  1845,  G.  W.  Boynton  issued  a  map  of  Lowell,  prepared 
from  a  survey  ordered  by  the  city. 

In  1845,  the  Stony  Brook  Railroad  Company  was  incorpo- 
rated, with  a  capital  of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  On 
the  first  of  July,  1848,  this  road,  connecting  Lowell  with 
Groton  Junction,  was  opened  for  travel,  largely  increasing 
our  facilities  for  communication  with  other  portions  of  New 
England,  and  with  New  York. 

It  was  in  1 845  that  John  G.  Whittier  took  up  his  abode  in 
Lowell  as  editor  of  the  Middlesex  Standard.  He  remained 
here  less  than  a  year,  but  during  his  sojourn  prepared  several 
admirable  sketches  of  Lowell  which  are  republished  in  his 
Miscellanies. 

In  1845,  the  business  of  manufacturing  was  begun  at  Law- 
rence, nine  miles  below  Lowell,  by  the  Essex  Company ;   and 


130  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

soon  afterward  the  fisheries  of  Merrimack  Eiver  became  the 
subject  of  a  controversy  that  has  continued  for  twenty  years. 

One  result  of  the  building  of  the  dam  at  Pawtucket  Falls 
in  1822,  was  a  diminution  of  the  number  of  fish  taken  annu- 
ally from  the  Merrimack.  A  still  further  diminution  followed 
on  the  building  of  other  dams,  such  as  those  at  Amoskeag  and 
Bow.  Shad  and  salmon,  however,  were  not  entirely  banished 
from  the  Merrimack,  until  after  the  erection  of  the  dam  at 
Lawrence  in  1847. 

This  subject,  however,  never  attracted  the  attention  in 
Lowell  which  it  deserves.  What  greater  boon  could  be  be- 
stowed on  the  poor  of  Lowell,  than  a  cheap  and  abundant 
supply  of  wholesome  fish?  As  late  as  1835,  it  is  estimated 
that  more  than  sixty-five  thousand  shad  and  over  eight  hun- 
dred salmon  were  taken  from  the  Merrimack  in  Lowell  alone. 

In  1866,  ]\[essrs.  Theodore  Lyman  and  Alfred  A.  Eeed, 
Commissioners  on  River  Fisheries,  made  a  report  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  concerning  the  obstructions  to  the  passage  of  fish  up 
the  Connecticut  and  Merrimack  Eivers,  suggesting  the  removal 
of  these  obstructions,  and  the  re-stocking  of  these  rivers  with 
shad,  salmon,  and  other  fish,  as  in  the  olden  time.  The  con- 
clusions of  the  Commissioners  were  that  "in  order  to  re-stock 
the  Connecticut  and  Merrimack  rivers  with  shad  and  salmon, 
fish-ways  must  be  built  over  the  dams  ;  the  pollution  of  the 
waters  must  be  prevented  ;  New  Hampshire  should  breed  sal- 
mon ;  Connecticut  should  forbid  the  use  of  weirs  and  gill-nets  ; 
and  stringent  laws  should  be  adopted  for  the  regulation  of 
fishing." 

In  compliance  with  the  recommendations  of  these  Commis- 
sioners, fishways  have  been  erected  around  all  the  dams,  and 
it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  from  year  to  year  the  salmon 
and  the  shad  will  resume  their  visits  up  the  Merrimack,  as  in 
the  olden  time.  The  fishway  at  Pawtucket  Falls  is  of  the 
kind  known  as  the  "  double  stair,"  consisting  of  two  parallel 
lines  of  tanks,  each  twelve  feet  square  and  a  foot  lower  than 


HISTORY    OF    I^OWELL.  131 

the  one  next  above.  There  are  nine  of  these  tanks,  and  at  the 
bottom  there  is  direct  communication  with  the  main  channel 
of  the  river.  The  tanks  are  constructed  of  heavy  masonry 
and  timber,  and  are  capable  of  resisting  ice  and  freshets. 

The  fishway  at  Lawrence  consists  of  a  drawbridge  reaching 
from  the  crest  of  the  dam  to  a  trough  or  pass.  When  the 
drawbridge  is  down  it  forms  a  sloping  dam  or  trough  twelve 
feet  wide,  with  a  fall  of  one  foot  in  ten,  with  only  a  certain 
depth  of  water,  up  which  the  fish  are  to  pass,  aided  only  by 
resting  tanks  where  they  may  pause  in  the  ascent.  In  winter 
the  drawbridge  is  raised  and  is  thus  secure  from  damage  by 
ice.^"*^ 

The  year  1845  was  a  memorable  one  for  our  "brethren  of 
the  mystic  tie."  On  the  tenth  of  September  in  that  year,  the 
Charter  of  Pentucket  Lodge, — originally  granted  March  9th, 
1807,  but  surrendered  in  1831,  in  consequence  of  the  Anti- 
Masonic  mania  which  then  prevailed, — was  restored,  and  a  new 
impetus  given  to  the  growth  of  Masonry  in  Lowell.  Since 
then,  three  other  Lodges  have  been  instituted  here — Ancient 
York,  in  1852  ;  Kilwinning,  in  1866;  and  William  North,  in 
1867.  Some  months  after  the  re-organization  of  Pentucket 
Lodge,  Mount  Horeb  Eoyal  Arch  Chapter  recovered  the  charter 
granted  to  it  in  1826,  and  resumed  its  work.  But  Ahasuerus 
Council  of  Pioyal  and  Select  Masters,  chartered  in  the  same 
year  with  Mount  Horeb  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  was  not  re-organ- 
ized until  1856.  Since  the  Masonic  Revival,  signalized  by 
the  re-opening  of  Pentucket  Lodge,  five  other  organizations 
have  been  instituted  in  Lowell,  viz.  :  Pilgrim  Encampment  of 
Knights  Templars,  in  1<S55  ;  Lowell  Grand  Lodge  of  Perfec- 
tion, 14*^,  in  1857;  Lowell  Council,  Princes  of  Jerusalem,  16°, 
in  1857  ;  Mount  Calvary  Chapter,  Rose  Croix,  18°,  in  1858; 
Massachusetts  So  v.*.  Consistory,  S.-.  P.*.  R.-.  S.\,  in  1859. 


*  Senate  Document,  No.  8, 18(5G;  Storers'  Report  on  the  Fishes  of  Massa- 
chusetts; Westminster  Review,  July,  18(J1 ;  Harper's  Magazine,  March,  1862; 
13  Gray,  p.  239;  1  Pickering,  p.  145;  5  llnd,  p.  109, 


132  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

In  April,  1840,  thirteen  years  from  the  day  of  his  appoint- 
ment, Joseph  Locke  resigned  his  office  as  Standing  Justice  of 
the  Police  Court ;  and  Nathan  Crosby  was  appointed  in  his 
place.  Judge  Locke  continued  to  reside  here  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  November  10th,  1853,  at  the  patriarchal  age 
of  eighty-two.  He  was  born  in  Fitzwiliiam,  New  Hampshire, 
April  8th,  1772,  and  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in 
1797.  His  class  furnished  the  Bar  with  several  lawyers  of 
more  than  ordinary  calibre,  and  the  pulpit  with  four  clergy- 
men of  distinguished  usefulness,  besides  two  physicians,  and 
two  members  of  Congress.  He  studied  law  with  Timothy 
Bigelow,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1801,  and  the  next 
year  opened  an  office  in  Billerica.  He  was  elected  Eepresen- 
tative  from  Billerica  in  1806,  and  was  re-elected  seven  times. 
He  was  eight  years  President  of  the  Court  of  Sessions,  and  in 
1816  was  nominated  a  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 
but  declined.  He  was  a  Presidential  Elector  the  same  year, 
and  voted  for  Rufus  King  for  President  in  opposition  to  James 
Monroe,  who  was  elected.  He  sat  in  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention of  1820,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Governor's  Council 
in  1822  and  1823.  He  removed  to  this  city  in  1833  ;  and  at 
once  was  appointed  Justice  of  the  Police  Court.  He  was  a 
Representative  to  the  Legislature  from  Lowell  in  1849.  Judge 
Locke  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school ;  an  accomplished 
lawyer,  thoroughly  versed  in  that  great  body  of  reason,  the 
gathered  wisdom  of  a  thousand  years — the  Common  Law.  This 
was  his  specialty,  his  forte.  He  also  excelled  in  special  plead- 
ing. His  career  of  thirteen  years  as  a  police  magistrate  was 
marked  by  all  the  qualities  'that  could  confer  dignity  on  the 
post,  and  develope  in  the  Bar  the  best  traits  of  the  legal,  and  in 
himself  the  best  traits  of  the  judicial  character.  His  decisions 
were  comprehensive  and  logical,  exhibiting  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  law,  and  vitalized  with  a  true  spirit  of  justice.  Those 
who  practiced  before  him  concur  in  the  attestation  that  he  was 
a  man  of  strong  mind,  clear  and  ready  discernment,  abundant 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  133 

learning  and  excellent  skill  in  explaining  and  illustrating 
judicial  problems.  In  dealing  with  criminals,  especially  the 
Celtic  criminals,  who  were  often  before  him,  he  exercised  a 
broad  and  tender  humanity  that  illustrated  both  ideal  and 
practical  justice. 

Appropriate  resolutions  were  passed,  on  the  occasion  of  his 
decease,  by  the  Lowell  Bar,  in  which  his  personal  integrity, 
professional  ability  and  amiable  manners  were  recognized  and 
applauded. 

'  Judge  Crosby  was  born  in  Sandwich,  New  Hampshire,  Feb- 
ruary 12th,^'  1798,  and  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in 
1820,  in  the  same  class  with  George  P.  Marsh,  Judge  I'pton 
and  Judge  Nesmith.  He  commenced  practice  as  a  lawyer  in 
his  native  state,  but  removed  to  Massachusetts  in  1826,  and 
practiced  first  at  Amesbury,  and  afterward  at  Newburyport. 
He  was  early  identified  with  the  Anti-Slavery  and  other  Ee- 
forms,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  active  advocates 
of  Railroads.  The  passage  of  the  famous  liquor  law  of  1838 
brought  him  into  the  field  as  an  advocate  of  that  measure,, 
and  he  lectured  extensively  under  the  auspices  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Temperance  Union.  He  also  edited  the  Temperance 
Journal  and  various  documents  that  were  issued  during  that 
interesting  stage  in  the  progress  of  the  Temperance  Reform. 
In  1843,  he  removed  from  Boston  to  Lowell^  and  was  success- 
fully employed  in  carrying  out  the  excellent  scheme  for  aug- 
menting the  water-power  of  the  Merrimack  Eiver,  by  creating 
reservoirs  more  than  a  hundred  square  miles  in  extent,  near 
the  outlets  of  Winnepissawkce,  Square  and  Newfound  Lakes. 

Since  his  elevation  to  our  police  bench,  Judge  Crosby  has. 
mitigated  the  asperities  of  law  with  the  amenities  of  literature. 
An  annual  volume  of  obituary  notices  of  eminent  persons  wa& 
projected  by  him  ;  and  two  volumes  were  issued, — one  in  1856^ 
the  other  in  1857, — which  will  be  a  valuable  legacy  to  future 
biographers  and  historians.     A  eulogy  of  Webster,  a  lecture 

*  Abraham  Lincoln  was  born  on  the  same  clay,  nine  years  later. 

12 


18-1: 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


on  India,  and  otlicr  discourses  delivered  Lv  bim,  liave  attested 
his  possession  of  oratorical  abilities  of  a  bigb  order. 

In  1846,  our  population  was  twenty -nine  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  twentj-seven.  The  city  of  Lawrence  had  just 
started  ;  and  to  facilitate  intercourse  between  the  two  places, 
the  Lowell  and  Lawrence  Railroad  was  incorporated  during 
this  year,  with  a  capital  of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars. 


On  the  thirtieth  of  June,  1847,  President  Polk  and  his 
Secretary  of  State,  James  Buchanan,  together  with  other  dis- 
tinguished gentlemen,  visited  Lowell,  and  were  received  by 
Mayor  Bancroft  at  the  Bleachery  Depot,  where  congratula- 
tions were  exchanged.  He  was  escorted  throuuh  the  principal 
streets,  with  the  usual  ceremonies,  by  the  City  Guards,  the 
Phalanx,  and  the  Westford  Ilifle  Company.  The  mills  were 
closed,  and  all  business  suspended.  The  President  and  his 
party  visited  the  Middlesex  and  Prescott  ]\lills  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  and  expressed  much  satisfaction  with  their  visit. 

On  the  twelfth  of  September,  1847,  Patrick  T.  Jackson 
suddenly  passed  away  at  Beverly,  in  his  sixty-eighth  year. 
Twelve  years  previously,  on  the  completion  of  the  Boston  and 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  135 

Lowell  Railroad,  he  felt  that  his  longest  day's  task  was  done, 
and  he  was  then  disposed  to  retire  from  the  active  business 
of  life.  But  a  dark  cloud  settled  down  over  this  great  and 
good  man.  While  building  up  works  for  future  generations, 
his  property,  which  he  had  so  hardly  earned,  passed  from 
his  hands.  Speculation  had  made  him,  for  the  third  time  in 
his  life,  a  poor  man.  But  his  powerful  mind  was  not  to  be 
distracted  even  now  ;  and  he  met  his  reverses  with  a  dignified 
composure  which  would  have  done  honor  to  a  philosopher.  He 
retrenched  his  expenses,  which  had  previously  been  enormous 
and  princely  ;  resumed  his  harness  with  a  cheerful  spirit,  and 
again  went  forth  to  the  stern  conflict  of  life.  Under  circum- 
stances like  these,  ordinary  life  becomes  a  poem,  and  daily 
labor  a  triumph  of  heroism. 

Mr.  Boott  died  in  1837  ;  and  in  consequence  of  his  death  the 
stock  of  the  Locks  and  Canals  Company  seriously  depreciated 
in  value.  The  death  of  Mr.  Boott  had  created  a  vacancy  which 
only  one  man  living  could  till ;  and  that  man  was  Mr.  Jackson. 
He  accepted  the  agentship  with  the  liberal  salary  of  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year.  His  whole  life  had  been  one  long  school- 
term,  eminently  fitting  him  for  this  responsible  post.  How 
well  he  filled  it,  will  be  seen  by  the  fact,  that  the  stock 
of  the  company,  when  the  reorganization  in  1845  occurred, 
commanded  sixteen  hundred  dollars  a  share,  and  that  the  same 
stock,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Boott,  sold  for  less  than  seven 
hundred  dollars  a  share. 

Before  he  closed  his  connection  with  the  Locks  and  Canals 
Company,  Mr.  Jackson  accepted  the  post  of  agent  and  treasurer 
of  the  Great  Falls  Manufacturing  Company  at  Somersworth — 
a  corporation  which  had  encountered  so  many  reverses,  that  a 
man  of  Mr.  Jackson's  stamp  was  absolutely  necessary  to  their 
final  success.  He  put  their  affairs  in  such  admirable  condition, 
that  his  share  of  their  profits  amounted  to  about  twelve  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year.  This  was  in  addition  to  the  salary  of 
ten  thousand  dollars  a  year,  paid  him  by  the  Locks  and  Canals 


136 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


Company.  During  a  portion  of  the  time  he  received  other 
salaries  besides.  His  aggregate  income  was  truly  enormous  ; 
— he  was  soon  restored  to  competence  ; — but  when  we  considei 
the  extraordinary  character  of  the  man,  and  the  prestige  ol 
success  which  attended  him  in  all  his  undertakings,  we  shall 
find  that  he  was  actually  the  cheapest  man  that  could  be  hired. 
No  such  salaries  are  now  paid ;  no  such  men  are  to  be  found  ; 
and,  indeed,  none  are  in  demand. 

His  abilities  fitted  him  for  the  highest  theatre  of  human 
action.  He  could  have  governed  the  vastest  empire  with  un- 
surpassed splendor,  had  Providence  called  him  to  a  throne. 
To  unlimited  grasp  of  mind,  he  united  the  capacity  to  master 
the  most  complicated  details,  together  with  spotless  integrity, 
unconquerable  self  reliance,  "  honor  enlightened  by  religiov. 
and  guarded  by  conscience,"  independence  in  all  his  own  opin* 
ions,  and  a  catholic  liberality  toward  the  views  of  his  oppo- 
nents. The  man  never  lived  who  more  richly  deserv^ed  to  be 
sculptured  in  marble,  or  depicted  on  canvas,  or  whose  praises 
could  form  a  worthier  theme  for  the  orator  or  the  poet.=-'= 

The  wooden  bridge  over  Concord  Eiver  near  the  Cemetery 
was  constructed  in  1847,  superceding  the  stone  bridge  below  it. 

In  1847,  the  great  Northern  Canal  was  completed, — being 
the  greatest  work  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States.  The  object 
of  the  canal,  as  well  as  of  the  subterranean  canal  under  Moody 
street,  was,  to  keep  constantly  a  fuller  head  of  water  thar. 
could  previously  be  obtained,  in  the  several  canals  that  feed 
the  water  into  the  flumes  of  the  various  mills.  The  canal  was 
constructed  by  the  combined  companies,  in  less  than  eighteen 
months,  at  a  cost  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  It  was 
first  filled  with  water  on  Thanksgiving-Day,  in  the  year  last 
mentioned.  James  B.  Francis,  the  Agent  and  Chief  Engineer 
of  the  Locks  and  Canals  Company,  was  the  architect  of  this 
stupendous  work.     Well  may  he  say — 

"  Exegi  moninnenttnn  fere  jjerennitisJ^ 
*  Lowell's  Memoir  of  Jackson. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  137 

A  great  portion  of  the  canal  was  excavated  through  the  solid 
rock.  Its  length  is  nearly  a  mile;  its  breadth  a  hundred  feet; 
and  its  depth  eighteen  feet.  Its  water-section  is  exactly  fif- 
teen hundred  square  feet.  The  banks  are  lined  with  a  double 
colonnade  of  trees,  tastefully  laid  out,  with  green  plats,  and 
beautiful  summer  prominades.  Along  these  picturesque  banks, 
will  "future  sons  and  daughters  yet  unborn,"  take  sentimental 
walks  by  moon-light,  while  tales  of  love  find  tender  audience, 
and  visions  of  a  matrimonial  Elysium  dance  through  their 
minds. 

In  1847,  the  Appleton  Bank  was  incorporated,  with  a  capital 
of  $100,000,  since  increased  to  $800,000. 

In  1848,  the  Salem  and  Lowell  Railroad  Company  was  in- 
corporated, with  a  capital  of  four  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  road  was  opened  for  travel,  August  1st,  1850.  The  City 
Institution  for  Savings  was  also  incorporated  in  1848.  Its 
design  was  to  afford  means  to  employ  small  sums  of  money  to 
advantage,  to  those  who  desired  to  save  a  part  of  their  earn- 
ings, but  had  not  yet  acquired  a  sufficient  surplus  to  purchase 
a  share  in  the  banks,  or  in  the  public  stocks.  These  little 
investments  are  made  without  that  risk  of  loss,  to  which  pri- 
vate loans  are  more  or  less  exposed. 

On  the  twentieth  of  February,  1848.  at  the  suggestion  of 
the  City  Council,  all  business  was  suspended,  and  the  bells, 
draped  in  black,  tolled  an  hour,  from  twelve  o'clock  till  one, 
on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  John  Quincy  Adams. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  September,  1848,  Abraham  Lincoln 
made  a  visit  to  Lowell,  and  addressed  a  Whig  meeting  in  the 
evening,  in  the  City  Hall.  An  unfailing  fund  of  strong  com- 
mon sense,  a  fine  vein  of  mother  wit  and  genial  humor,  a 
steady  flow  of  clear  and  cogent  argument,  a  frank  and  liberal 
partisanship,  a  brond  and  generous  patriotism,  '•  charity  for  all, 
malice  for  none" — these  were  the  characteristics  of  his  speech. 
He  was  listened  to  with  close  attention,  and  frequently  loudly 
applauded.  But  with  how  much  deeper  interest  would  that 
12^--^ 


t38  history  of  lowell. 

audience  have  hung  upon  his  words,  had  they  'foreseen  that 
the  genial  countenance  of  their  homely  orator  would  one  day 
be  encircled  with  an  aureole  of  glory — that,  indeed,  they  were 
listening  to  a  man  who  was  to  be  enshrined  forever  in  Ameri- 
can history  as  second  only  to  Washington,  and  hardly  second 
to  him ! 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  Col.  Sutter's  mill-race  in  Cali- 
fornia, in  August,  1848, — the  greatest  event,  perhaps,  since 
the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus, — wrought  wonderful 
changes  in  the  character  of  the  operatives  of  the  Lowell  mills. 
The  news  of  that  event  fell  upon  their  ears  with  seductive 
thrill.  From  that  day  a  change  began  to  work  itself  out  in 
the  people  here.  The  Americans  started  by  scores  for  the 
land  of  gold.  This  Californian  emigration,  together  with  that 
to  the  great  West,  deprived  Lowell  of  some  of  the  best  elements 
in  her  varied  population. 

In  1848,  two  fire  insurance  companies  were  incorporated  in 
Lowell — the  Howard,  and  the  Traders  and  Mechanics'.  The 
Lowell  Mutual  had  been  incorporated  sixteen  years  previously. 

On  April  24th,  1849,  the  City  Council  invited  President 
Taylor  to  visit  Lowell-  Public  business  compelled  the  Presi- 
dent to  decline.  On  July  13th,  1850,  business  was  suspended, 
bells  tolled,  cannon  boomed: — Zachary  Taylor  was  no  more. 

On  Sunday  evening,  September  11th,  1849,  the  fight  be- 
tween the  Corkonians  and  the  Far-Downers,  commonly  called 
"the  Battle  of  Suffolk  Bridge,"  was  fought  on  Loweil  street. 
One  man  was  shot  and  several  others  injured  by  stones,  of 
which  ten  cart-loads  were  used.  Instead  of  the  Militia,  the 
Firemen  were  foolishly  called  out ;  the  riot  act  was  read,  the 
aid  of  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  obtained,  and  finally  peace 
restored.  Stephen  Castles  and  twenty-four  others  were  sub- 
sequently indicted  as  rioters,  and  some  of  them  were  afforded 
an  opportunity  to  meditate  on  their  folly  within  the  walls  of 
a  prison.  The  controversy  between  the  Corkonians  and  the 
Far-Downers  was  adjourned  to  the   Greek  Kalends,  when  it 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  liP^^ 

is  hoped,  it  will  be  settled  en  its  merits,  without  the  inter- 
meddling of  Militia,  Firemen,  Priesthood  or  Police. 

Two  days  subsequent  to  the  riot,  Father  Mathew  visited 
Lowell,  and  was  honored  with  a  public  reception.  While  here, 
he  administered  the  Temperance  Pledge  to  about  five  thousand 
persons,  and  the  beneficial  fruits  of  his  labors  were  long  visi- 
ble among  his  co-religionists.  Among  the  results  of  his  visit 
was  the  Mathew  Institute,  an  Irish  literary  society,  organized 
October  16th,  1849,  and  incorporated  in  1855.  It  flourished 
till  1860,  and  then  passed  out  of  existence. 

In  1849,  the  reservoir  on  Lynde's  Hill  was  constructed  by 
the  Locks  and  Canals  Company,  under  the  direction  of  James 
B.  Francis.  Its  capacity  is  two  million  gallons,  and  its  eleva- 
tion is  about  two  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  mill- 
yards.  It  is  supplied  with  water  by  force-pumps  driven  by 
Water-power.  A  twelve-inch  pipe  connects  the  reservoir  with 
the  yards  of  all  of  the  great  corporations.  From  these  pipes 
the  water  flows  under  a  pressure  of  eighty  pounds  to  the  square 
inch,  aftbrding  admirable  means  for  extinguishing  fires,  not 
only  on  the  corporations,  but  in  the  city  generally."  ^-^ 

*  Francis  on  the  Means  for  Extinguishing  Fire.  Journal  of  Franklin 
lustUute,  April,  1865. 


140 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

GENERAL    HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.       1850-1860. 

Gas — The  Court  House — Centralville — Citizen  and  Xeics — Bloomer  Ball — 
Mechanics'  Fair — Ileform  School — H.  S.  Tremenheere — Courier-Hwtler  Li- 
bels— George  Wellman — Louis  Kossnth— Temperance  Court— Huntington 
Hall — Ten  Hour  Agitation — Samuel  Appleton — Otto  Club — Agricultural 
Societj- — Joseph  Hiss  —  Elisha  Bartlett  —  Abbott  Lawrence — The  Jail  — 
Thomas  Hopkinson  —  Thomas  H.Benton  —  Mary  Barnard  —  Mechanics' 
Fair — Triimpet  Libels  —  Secret  Societies  —  Robert  Burns  —  Jane  Ermina 
Locke — Trial  for  Perjury. 


On  January  1st,  1850,  Gas  was  first  introduced  bj  the 
Lowell  Gas  Light  Company,  which  had  been  incorporated  in 
1S49,  with  a  capital  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The 
works  of  this  company  are  capable  of  producing  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  cubic  feet  per  day.  Mertoun  C.  Bryant 
was  their  Agent  till  1862,  when  Oliver  E.  Gushing  succeeded 
him. 

In  1850,  the  Prescott  Bank  was  incorporated,  with  a  capital 
of  $100,000,  now  $300,000. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


141 


In  the  same  year,  the  spacious  Court-House  on  Gorham 
street  was  erected,  costing  about  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars. This  edifice  is  of  brick,  fire-proof  throughout,  and  is 
one  of  the  handsomest  court-houses  in  the  country. 


In  1851,  the  area  of  the  city  was  extended  by  the  annexa- 
tion of  Centralville,  previously  a  part  of  Dracut. 

On  June  4th,  1851,  i]iQ  Daily  News  made  its  first  appear- 
ance ;  and  three  years  later,  Z.  E.  Stone  established  the  Amer- 
ican Citizen,  daily  and  weekly.     In  185G,  these  papers  were 


142  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

united.  Among  the  editors  of  these  journals  were  Enoch 
Emery,  Albram  Keach,  S.  E.  Streeter,  Zina  E.  Stone,  Frank 
Crosby,  Leonard  Brown,  John  A.  Goodwin,  and  Chauncy  L. 
Knapp. 

On  July  22nd,  1851,  was  held  the  famous  "Bloomer  Ball," 
the  first  practical  attempt  to  introduce  the  costume  originated 
by  Mrs.  Amelia  Bloomer  of  Seneca,  New  York.  The  ball  was 
a  success,  but  the  costume  was  not  a  success. 

On  September  16th,  1851,  the  Middlesex  Mechanics'  Asso- 
ciation opened  their  first  Fair,  with  Ithamar  A.  Beard  as 
Superintendent.  The  Fair  continued  until  October  16th,  and 
the  number  of  entrees  on  the  catalogue  of  articles  exhibited 
was  1483.  The  Committee  of  Arrangements  consisted  of 
Oliver  M.  Whipple,  (Chairman,)  Mertoun  C.  Bryant,  (Secre- 
tary), Sewall  Gr.  Mack,  Samuel  W.  Brown,  William  Fiske, 
D.  A.  G.  Warner,  Lucius  A.  Cutler,  Josiah  Gates  John  W. 
Smith,  Walter  Wright,  J.  G.  Peabody  and  David  Dana. 

In  1851,  the  Lowell  Reform  School  was  established  for  the 
reformation  of  juvenile  offenders.  There  from  twenty-five  to 
forty  boys  have  ever  since  been  confined,  under  sentences  im- 
posed by  the  Police  Court,  and  generally  covering  periods  of 
six  or  twelve  months.  The  offences  for  which  boys  are  com- 
mitted are  truancy,  larceny,  disobedience  to  parents,  defacing 
school-houses,  fruit- stealing,  etc.  The  institution  has  abund- 
antly justified  the  hopes  of  Judge  Locke,  Dr.  Huntington  and 
others,  who  urged  the  utility  of  such  an  institution,  years  before 
this  school  was  established.  But  the  situation  of  the  school 
in  connection  with  the  Alms  House  is  decidedly  objectionable. 
A  truant  boy  is  not  necessarily  vicious.  His  self-respect  ought 
not  to  be  wounded  by  assimilating  him  with  paupers — much 
less  with  criminals.  Moreover,  the  system  is  radically  wrong, 
which  puts  wayward  boys  into  the  same  dock,  arraigns  them 
at  the  same  bar,  and  deals  with  them  by  the  same  forms,  as 
drunkards,  prostitutes  and  thieves. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  143 

It  was  iu  the  fall  of  1851,  that  the  English  writer,  Hugh 
Seymour  Tremenheere,  visited  Lowell.  The  results  of  his 
observation  in  America  were  published  during  the  following 
year,  in  his  "Notes  on  Public  Subjects."  His  remarks  on 
public  education  were  enriched  wijth  a  communication  from 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Edson,  which  provoked  considerable  hostile  criti- 
cism, at  the  time,  though  substantially  the  same  views  had 
been  presented  by  Dr.  Edson,  twenty  years  earlier,  at  a  meet- 
ing of  an  association  of  the  teachers  of  Middlesex  County. 
He  says: — 

"  Seeing  that  the  system  of  public  schools  established  by  law  was  the 
only  one  possible  under  the  circumstances  of  the  country,  I  have  applied 
myself  with  all  the  zeal  in  my  power  to  make  it  efticier.t;  and  I  have  endeav- 
ored to  cause  the  deficiency  of  religious  instruction  in  the  day-schools  to  be 
svipplied  by  encouraging  Sunday  Schools,  .  .  seeing  in  them  the  only  mode 
under  our  system  to  imprint  on  the  minds  of  those  who  most  require  such 
teaching,  the  pi'inciples  of  Revealed  Keligion.  My  experience,  however,  has 
forced  upon  me  the  painful  conviction  that  our  jjublic  school  system  has 
undermined  already  among  our  population,  to  a  great  extent,  the  doctrines 
and  principles  of  Christianity." 

Of  the  young  people  who  flow  into  Lowell  from  the  neigh- 
boring states,  he  observes, — 

"  That  they  possess  a  knowledge  of  none,  or  nearly  none,  of  the  distinc- 
tive principles  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  that  many  are  in  a  state  of  mind 
beyond  that  of  mere  indifl'erence,  though  not  precisely  in  that  of  those  im- 
bued with  the  principles  of  French  and  (jlerman  Infidelity.  I  find  in  them 
a  considerable  indifl'erence  as  to  what  sect  they  may  belong  to,  thinking  all 
religions  alike,  and  generally  showing  a  great  ignorance  of  the  Bible,  which 
they  profess  to  take  as  their  guide. 

"  I  find  many  not  only  unable  to  repeat  any  of  the  Ten  Commandments, 
but  entirely  unaware  of  their  being  any  Ten  Commandments  at  all.  I  find 
them  generally  well  grounded  in  the  elements  of  what  is  called  common 
education,  and  clever  and  acute  as  to  all  worldly  matters  that  concern  them, 
but  very  lax  in  their  notions  of  moral  obligation  and  duty,  and  indisposed 
to  submit  to  any  authority  or  control  whatever,  even  from  a  very  earlj-  age. 
.  .  .  There  is  indeed  a  school  of  persons  in  this  country,  and  a  veiy  nu- 
merous one,  who  think  it  wrong  to  influence  a  child  in  its  adoption  of  any 
religious  belief.  Very  commonly,  also,  no  point  of  doctrine  seems  to  have 
been  efl'ectually  and  thoroughly  exi)lained  to  them  and  taiight  as  from  au- 
thority. .  .  .  From  throwing  ofl'  authority  in  regard  to  religious  matters, 
and  holding  doctrines  loosely,  the  step  is  easy  to  abandon  them  altogether, 
and  accordingly  .  .  .  the  great  majority  of  those  now  growing  up  cannot 
be  said  to  hold  more  than  belongs  to  mere  Natural  Keligion.  I  look  upon  this 
very  prevalent  condition  of  mind  with  very  great  apprehension,  for  all  history 


144  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

shows  that  this  is  only  the  first  downward  step  to  complete  irreligion  and  infi- 
delity, and  thence  to  the  corruption  of  morals,  such  as  was  exhibited  in  the 
Heathen  world.  I  much  fear  that  we  are  making  sure  and  not  very  slow 
strides  in  that  direction,  and  while  I  deeply  lament  it,  I  am  free  to  confess 
I  see  no  present  remedy  for  it  in  this  country." 

The  children  of  the  Irish  population,  the  Doctor  observes, 
''are  well  looked  after  by  their  priests."     As  to  the  rest,  he 

says, — 

"I  believe  that  less  than  half  of  the  whole  number  of  children  between 
the  ages  of  five  and  sixteen  attend  any  Sunday-school,  or  do  so  only  most 
irregularly.  It  is  easy  to  infer  what  sort  of  hold  the  Bible,  its  precepts  and 
its  doctrines,  can  be  likely  to  have  on  minds  thus  loosely  prepared  for  the 
temptations  of  life." 

With  those  who  mistake  diffused  superficiality  for  universal 
high  culture,  such  views  as  these  were  not  likely  to  be  received 
with  favor.  But  these  views  are  not  peculiar  to  Dr.  Edson. 
Caleb  Cushing,  for  example,  holds  that  our  public  schools  are 
inferior  to  those  of  many  European  countriovS,  producing  a 
much  smaller  proportion  of  pupils  who  thoroughly  understand 
the  four  rudimentary  arts — reading,  spelling,  wTitiug  and  cy- 
phering ;  while  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  hails  it  as  an  auspicious 
sign,  that  the  most  advanced  minds  of  the  age  have  renounced 
Theology  and  fallen  back  on  Morals. 

In  1852,  a  personal  political  controversy  of  several  years' 
duration,  between  Benjamin  E.  Butler  and  John  H.  Warland, 
editor  of  the  Courier,  reached  its  culminating  point.  This 
quarrel  was  begun  originally  by  Mr.  Butler,  who,  at  a  Demo- 
cratic caucus,  called  attention  to  certain  disfigurments  on  Mr. 
Warland's  face,  which  he  attributed  to  Warland's  illicit  dal- 
liances with  the  fair,  frail,  black-eyed  Creoles  whom  he  had 
met  while  with  Gen.  Scott  in  Mexico.  Such  an  insult  was 
quite  too  much  for  Warland,  who,  with  the  "fine  frenzy"  of 
a  poet,  combined  another  frenzy  of  a  far  more,  savage  kind. 
It  was  like  waving  a  red  flag  before  a  fighting  bull.  Accord- 
ingly, the  infuriated  Warland  proceeded  to  punish  Butler  by 
publishing  in  the  Courier  a  series  of  the  most  galling  personal 
invectives.     Of  course,  Butler  replied  ;  and  month  after  month 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  145 

the  war  of  words  waged — the  Courier  making  daily  discharges 
of  printed  filth  on  Butler,  and  Butler  from  the  rostrum  send- 
ing back  a  stream  of  foul  abuse  on  Warland. 

Butler  and  Warland  were  pretty  evenly  matched ;  but  when 
Benjamin  W.  Ball  came  into  the  field  as  an  ally  of  Warland, 
there  was  a  preponderance  of  vituperation  on  the  side  of  the 
Courier.  Ball  had  previously  distinguished  himself  by  a  vol- 
ume of  poems,  and  with  the  exception  of  John  P.  Eobinson, 
he  was  probably  the  best  Greek  scholar  that  ever  lived  in 
Lowell.  He  wrote  a  caustic  epitaph  in  rhyme,  and  several 
prose  diatribes  on  Butler,  some  of  which  were  not  unworthy 
of  Peter  Porcupine  or  even  Junius;  though,  for  exquisite  con- 
centration of  venom,  the  best  of  his  squibs  would  hardly  com- 
pare with  the  later  effusions  of  "  Brick  Pomeroy,"  of  the  La 
Crosse  Democrat. 

Smarting  under  these  blistering  invectives,  Butler  appealed 
for  protection  to  the  Courts.  Accordingly,  at  the  Pebruary 
term  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  the  grand  jury  presented 
two  indictments  against  Warland,  and  two  against  Samuel  J. 
Varney,  Warland's  editorial  associate,  for*libels  on  Butler  in 
the  Courier.  Judge  Hoar  presided  at  the  trials,  the  result  of 
which  shows  how  wide  a  gulf  often  separates  law  from  justice. 
Varney,  who  was  innocent,  was  convicted,  and  mulcted  with 
a  .fifty-dollar  fine.  Warland,  who  was  guilty,  was  acquitted  ; 
while  Butler  who  began  the  fight,  and  Ball  who  joined  it  with- 
out provocation,  were  never  called  to  account  at  all.^"'^ 

Another  event  signalized  the  year  1852,  of  far  more  impor- 
tance than  any  quarrels  of  politicians,  journalists  or  lawyers.. 
During  that  year,  George  Well  man  completed  his  first  working 
model  of  his  self  top  card  stripper  —  one  of  the  most  valuable 

*  Criminal  Eec-ords  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  Middlesex  Coiuity, 
18.r2,  pp.  ;)4i-:>i7  aud  ?m-\»h;  and  10  Gushing,  402. 

The  indirtnieuts  ai'c  in  Gen.  Butler's  hand-writiuj?.  Hereafter,  as  the  sol- 
itary, curious  student  reads  these  cold,  formal  records,  he  v>-ill  hardly  realize 
what  fieroe  and  maliirnant  passions  burned  themselves  out  in  this  intensely 
bitter  quarrel. 

13 


146  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

inventions  of  the  present  century  —  which  was  patented  in 
1853.  Two  additional  patents  for  improvements  in  this  in- 
vention were  obtained  b}'  Mr.  Wellman  —  one  in  1854,  the 
other  in  1857.  Three  patents  for  the  same  invention  were 
also  obtained  by  him  in  England  —  the  last  in  1860.  The 
governments  of  France,  Austria,  Prussia,  Saxony,  VVurtem- 
burg,  Belgium,  and  Bavaria,  have  also  granted  patents  for  the 
self  top  card  stripper. 

Mr.  Wellman  was  born  in  Boston,  March  16th,  1810,  and 
was  the  first-born  son  of  his  parents,  a  sound,  healthy,  pro- 
ductive couple,  who  subsequently  had  twelve  other  children ; 
— a  family  such  as  would  gladden  the  heart  of  Dr.  Allen,  if  he 
could  only  find  such  an  one,  in  these  days  of  physical  degen- 
eracy and  decay.  About  1835,  Mr.  Wellman  came  to  Lowell, 
and  for  many  years  had  charge  of  a  carding-room  on  the  Mer- 
rimack Corporation.  In  1845,  he  invented  the  stop  motion, 
used  on  the  dressing-frame  and  winder,  but  neglected  to  take 
out  a  patent  for  it.  His  mind,  however,  had  been  fixed  on 
the  invention  of  a  self  top  card  stripper  while  he  was  employed 
at  North  Chelmsford,  long  before  the  invention  of  this  stop 
motion  ;  and  he  continued  thinking  and  working  at  it  till  he 
had  realized  his  thought  in  a  perfect  working  machine. 

To  show  the  value  of  this  invention,  it  may  be  stated  here 
that  the  average  cost  of  stripping  a  card  by  hand  was  three 
hundred  dollars  per  annum,  all  of  which  is  saved  by  this  in- 
vention, the  application  of  which  to  each  machine,  involves  an 
outlay  of  less  than  sixty-dollars  altogether.  This  invention 
also  saves  from  one-fourth  to  one-eighth  of  a  cent  per  pound 
on  the  raw  cotton. 

In  1854,  Mr.  Wellman  oiFered  to  sell  to  the  corporations  the 
exclusive  right  to  use  this  invention  in  Lowell,  for  three  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  agents  of  the  companies  met  at  the  Merri- 
mack Counting-Eoom,  and  after  grave  deliberation,  stupidly 
declined  the  offer.     Since  then,  more  than  twenty-five  thousand 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  147 

dollars  have  been  paid  by  these  corporations  for  the  use  of  the 
self  top  card  stripper. 

Mr.  Wellman  died,  April  4th,  1864.  His  sun  may  be  said 
to  have  gone  down  at  noon,  since  he  had  not  completed  his 
fifty-fourth  year.  The  pen  of  history  can  never  be  better  em- 
ployed than  in  recording  the  achievements  of  men  of  inventive 
genius,  like  Wellman.  A  late  Commissioner  of  Patents  has 
justly  observed  that — 

"All  that  is  glorious  in  om-  past  or  hopeful  in  our  future  is  indissolul)ly 
linked  with  that  cause  of  human  progress  of  whi'-h  inventors  are  the  ^^rej^x 
chevaliers.  It  is  no  poetic  translation  of  the  abiding  sentiment  of  the  countiy 
to  say  that  they  are  the  true  jewels  of  the  nation  to  which  they  belong.  .  . 
The  schemes  of  the  politician  and  of  the  statesman  may  subserve  the  pur- 
poses of  the  hour,  and  the  teachings  of  the  moralist  may  remain  with  the 
generation  to  which  they  are  addressed,  but  all  this  m.ust  pass  away;  while 
the  fruits  of  the  inventor's  genius  will  euilure  as  imperishable  memorials, 
and,  surviving  the  wreck  of  creeds  and  systems,  alike  of  politics,  religion 
and  philosophy,  will  diliuse  their  blessings  to  all  lands  and  throughout  all 
ages."  * 

On  May  6th,  1852,  Louis  Kossuth,  the  Hungarian  patriot, 
then  on  a  tour  of  triumph  through  the  United  States,  by  special 
invitation  of  the  citizens,  visited  Lowell,  and  was  received  with 
the  warmest  enthusiasm.  He  was  escorted  by  the  military 
companies  through  the  principal  streets,  attended  by  a  proces- 
sion of  some  thousands  of  citizens,  amid  the  ringing  of  bells, 
the  music  of  bauds,  the  thunder  of  cannon,  and  the  loudest 
demonstrations  of  joy.  He  visited  several  of  the  mills,  and 
the  Northern  Canal.  In  the  evening,  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  he 
received  an  address  of  welcome  from  Mayor  Huntington,  and 
delivered  a  beautiful  oration,  characterized  by  what  Mr.  Choate 
would  term  "  the  sweetest,  most  meltinsr,  most  awful  of  the 
tones  that  man  may  ever  utter,  or  may  ever  hear, — the  elo- 
quence of  an  exoiring  nation  !  " 

In  1852,  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  enacted  the  first 
prohibitory  liquor  law.     Enrly  in  the  year  following,  under 

*  Holt's  Decision  on  Goodyear's  Patent,  1858. 


148 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


the  encouragement  of  certain  zealous  but  imprudent  friends  of 
prohibition,  Timothy  Pearson  undertook  to  enforce  this  law  as 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace.  The  farce  of  a  temperance  court  con- 
tinued to  be  played  by  Pearson  till  the  Supreme  Court  ousted 
him  of  his  usurped  jurisdiction.^-'^ 

In  1853,  the  Merrimack  Street  Depot  was  erected,  jointly 
by  the  City  and  the  Boston  and  Lowell  Railroad  Corporation. 
Whether  it  was  wise  on  the  part  of  the  city  to  engage  in 
a  joint  enterprise  of  this  kind,  has  been  gravely  questioned. 
Two  spacious  halls,  were  fitted  up  in  the  upper  stories  of  this 
edifice  : — one  named  Huntington  Hall,  in  honor  of  Elisha 
Huntington ;  the  other  named  Jackson  Hall,  in  honor  of  Pat- 
rick T.  Jackson. 

Synchroniously  with  the  building  of  this  Depot,  the  City 
Hall  Building  was  reconstructed,  and  the  hall  from  which  it 
took  its  name  became  a  thing  of  the  past.  Many  interesting 
memories  are  associated  with  that  Hall.  There. had  been  wit- 
nessed the  most  tumultuous  scenes  in  our  early  history.  There 
had  been  fought  the  battle  for  the  schools, — the  battle  for  Bel- 
videre, — the  battle  for  the  Charter, — the  battle  for  the  Market 
House, — the  battle  for  Caleb  Cushing  as  the  "  Picpresentative 
Man."  There  the  heart  of  young  Lowell  had  throbbed  under 
the  passionate  eloquence  of  Clay.  There  had  spoken  Abraham 
Lincoln,  John  Quincy  Adams,  Daniel  Webster,  Piufus  Choate, 
Edward  Everett,  John  M.  Berrian,  Lewis  Cass,  Levi  Wood- 
bury, Isaac  Hill,  and  others  of  the  great  men  of  America, 
who  have  since  passed  out  of  time  into  history. 

Eor  some  years  prior  to  1853,  the  policy  of  regulating  by 
law  the  hours  of  labor  in  factories,  had  been  one  of  the  most 
prominent  subjects  of  popular  agitation.  It  had  been  a  great 
source  of  power  to  the  Coalition,  enabling  the  Democrats  and 
Eree  Soilers  to  overthrow  the  ascendency  of  the  Whigs  here, 
in  spite  of  their  protestations  that  they,  too,   were  Ten  Hour 

*  Commomvealth  V.  Emery,  11  Cushing,  400;   Piper  v.  Pearson,  2  Gray, 
120;  Emery  v.  Hapgood,  7  Gray,  55. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  149 

Men."'  On  September  21st,  1853,  the  corporations  reduced 
the  hours  of  labor,  of  their  own  accord,  to  an  average  of 
eleven  hours  a  day  ;  and  for  a  time  the  Ten  Hour  agitation 
subsided.  Upon  the  revival  of  this  agitation  in  1855,  when 
the  Legislature  seemed  determined  to  enact  a  Ten  Hour  Law, 
the  corporation  managers  in  Boston  adopted  the  policy  of  Wal- 
pole,  and  killed  the  Bill  by  secretly  buying  up  some  of  the 
most  influential  of  its  advocates!  The  Legislature  of  1855 
has  been  the  object  of  much  opprobrium.  It  has  often  been 
compared  to  the  Lack  Learning  Parliament  which  sat  in  Eng- 
land in  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Fourth.  But  the  "  Lobby  " 
which  controlled  that  Legislature,  was  more  remarkable  still. 
There  the  men  who  for  years  had  clamored  for  a  Ten  Hour 
Law,  and  whose  pockets  had  been  lined  with  corporation  gold, 
were  seen  "doing  the  heavy  standing  round,"  and  suggesting 
to  members  that  as  the  operatives  were  satisfied  with  the 
eleven-hour  rule,  it  was  not  worth  while  to  carry  the  matter 
further.     Accordingly,  the  Bill  failed. 

On  July  12th,  1853,  died  Samuel  Appleton,  (brother  of 
Nathan,  and  cousin  of  William,)  f  aged  eighty-eight  years. 
He  had  been  largely  interested  in  Lowell  Manufactures  from 
the  start. 

In  1853,  the  Wamesit  Bank  was  incorporated.  Its  capital 
is  $200,000. 

In  1854,  the  Merchants'  Bank  was  incorporated,  with  a 
capital  of  $100,000,  since  increased  to  $300,000.  The  Five 
Cent  Savings  Bank  was  also  incorporated  during  this  year. 

*In  1852,  that  flvollpst  of  local  Whig  politicians,  Tappan  Wcntworth,  actu- 
ally induced  all  the  Whi^  candidates  for  the  Legislature  to  pledge  themselves 
to  vote  for  the  Ten  Hour  Bill!  This  artiul  dodge  assisted  Wentworth  into 
C;)ngress;  but,  at  the  same  time,  all  the  Whig  candidates  for  the  Legisla- 
ture were  defeated. 

t  Wiliiani  Appleton  died  Febiniary  15th,  1832.  He  was  chosen  a  member 
of  Cangress  in  1831,  and  again  in  1852.  He  was  again  elected  in  18G0,  defeat- 
ing Anson  Burlingame. 

io" 


150  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

In  1854,  the  Young  Men's  Catholic  Library  Association 
was  incorporated ;  its  object  being  literary  and  elocutionary 
culture. 

In  the  same  year,  the  Otto  Club  of  vocalists  was  formed 
under  the  management  of  P.  P.  Haggerty.  This  club  still 
lives.  The  Philharmonic  Society,  the  Mozart  Society  and  oth- 
ers, of  older  date,  formed  for  the  cultivation  of  instrumental 
music,  have  collapsed. 

In  1855,  the  Middlesex  North  Agricultural  Society  was  in- 
corporated. Their  Fair  Grounds  were  purchased  and  their 
building  erected  in  1860. 

On  March  29th,  1855,  Joseph  Hiss  and  his  associates  on 
the  famous  Legislative  "  Smelling  Committee"  came  to  Lowell, 
and  inspected  the  school  of  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  estab- 
lished September  Hth,  1853.  While  here.  Hiss  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Mrs.  Moody,  alias  *'  Mrs.  Patterson,"  with 
whom  he  passed  the  night  at  the  Washington  House.  The 
virtuous  indignation  of  his  colleagues  was  aroused  at  this,  and 
the  House  of  Eepresentatives  expelled  him.  The  results  of 
the  visit  were,  to  make  Hiss  notorious  and  the  Legislature 
ridiculous,  and  to  furnish  some  sensational  cuts  for  the  comic 
and  pictorial  newspapers. 

On  May  29th,  1855,  the  bicentennial  anniversary  of  the 
incorporation  of  Billerica  was  appropriately  commemorated  by 
the  people  of  that  ancient  town. 

On  July  16th,  1855,  an  act  of  the  Legislature  was  sub- 
mitted for  the  acceptance  of  the  citizens  of  Lowell,  providing 
for  the  abolition  of  the  Police  Court,  and  the  establishment  of 
a  Municipal  Court.     It  was  rejected — yeas,  1330;  nays,  1448. 

On  July  22nd,  1855,  Dr.  Elisha  Bartlett  died  of  paralysis 
at  Sinithfield,  in  Ehode  Island.  He  was  born  in  the  same 
town,  October  6th,  1804,  and  commenced  practice  in  Lowell 
in  1827.  He  took  an  active  part  in  local  politics,  and  was 
Lowell's  first  Mayor.  He  subsequently  held  medical  profes- 
sorships  in    Pittsfield,    Dartmouth,    Baltimore,  Transylvania, 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  151 

Louisville  and  Woodstock.  He  also  held  a  professorship  for 
three  years  in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  the 
City  of  New  York.  He  was  the  author  of  a  variety  of  pro- 
fessional and  miscellaneous  works,  and  was  one  of  the  few 
who  love  to  turn  aside  from  the  thorny  road  of  professional 
practice,  to  tread  the  flowery  paths  of  literature.  His  princi- 
pal work  was  on  the  "  Philosophy  of  Medical  Science."  A  man 
of  fine  culture, — of  incorruptible  integrity, — with  a  clear  head 
and  a  warm  heart, — filling  with  distinguished  credit  some  of 
the  highest  places  of  his  profession, — and  never  playing  the 
part  of  a  demagogue  ;  Lowell  may  cherish  with  peculiar  pride 
the  name  and  memory  of  her  first  M-ayor.^-''= 

On  the  eighteenth  of  August,  1855,  died  Abbott  Lawrence, 
who,  though  never  a  citizen  of  Lowell,  had,  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  been  closely  identified  with  Lowell  interests.  Two 
of  his  brothers — Luther  and  Samuel — long  resided  here.  He 
was  born  at  Groton,  December  IGth,  1792,  and  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  town.  He  was  assiduous  in 
business,  studious  of  books,  and  always  prepared  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  those  chances  which  fortune  now  and  then  opens 
to  every  aspiring  young  man.  He  was  first  engaged  with  his 
brothers  in  the  importing  business,  in  Boston ;  and  did  net 
become  interested  in  the  Lowell  companies  till  1830.  He 
rendered  signal  service  in  building  up  the  cotton  manufacture 
in  America  on  an  enduring  basis,  and  gave  his  name  to  the 
city  next  below  Lowell  on  the  line  of  the  Merrimack. 

He  was  not  by  profession  a  statesman.  But  he  was  Commis- 
sioner in  1842  to  adjust  (with  Lord  Ashburton)  the  North- 
eastern boundary  ;  he  was  also  a  prominent  candidate  for  the 
Whig  nomination  for  Vice  President  in  1848,  and  narrowly 
escaped  the  position  which,  on  the  death  of  Taylor,  made  Mr. 
Fillmore  President  of  the  United  States.  He  was  offered  and 
declined  the  Secretaryship  of  the  Navy,  but  accepted  the  post 
of  Minister  to  England,  in  1849,  and  honored  both  himself 

*  Huutingtou's  Memoir  of  Bartlett,  1856. 


152  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

and  his  country  by  the  manner  in  which  he  discharged  the 
duties  of  that  highest  office  known  to  American  diplomacy. 
He  particularly  distinguished  himself  in  the  negotiation  for  a 
ship  canal  between  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  the  Pacific,  and 
would  probably  have  succeeded  had  not  Mr.  Clayton,  then 
Secretary  of  State,  abruptly  withdrawn  the  business  from  hia 
hands.  "On  the  whole,"  says  Nathan  Appleton,  "it  may  be 
doubted,  whether,  since  the  mission  of  Dr.  Franklin,  any  min- 
ister of  the  United  States  has  accomplished  a  diplomatic  suc- 
cess greater  than  must  be  awarded  to  Mr.  Lawrence."-' 

On  April  7th,  1856,  on  the  resignation  of  S.  P.  P.  Fay  of 
Cambridge,  (who  had  held  the  office  thirty-five  years),  William 
A.  Richardson  of  the  Lowell  Bar  was  appointed  Judge  of  Pro- 
bate. Shortly  afterward,  Luther  J.  Fletcher,  another  Lowell 
lawyer,  was  appointed  Judge  of  Insolvency. 

On  May  13th,  1858,  (the  Courts  of  Insolvency  having  been 
reconstructed,)  Judge  Eichardson  was  appointed  Judge  of  In- 
solvency also.  In  these  Courts  of  Probate  and  Insolvency, 
and  also  as  one  of  the  codifiers  of  the  Grcneral  Statutes,  Judge 
Richardson  has  acquired  a  reputation  seldom  equaled  in  these 
departments  of  juridical  labor. 

In  May,  1856,  the  case  of  Edward  D.  Clayes  versus  Louisa 
C.  Clayes,  a  suit  for  a  divorce,  and  a  cross  suit  between  the 
same  parties,  came  on  for  trial  in  the  Supreme  Court  here. 
Strange  exposures  were  made  which  compromised  several  per- 
sons still  living.     Both  parties  were  refused  a  decree. 

On  October  28th,  1856,  while  that  great  magician,  Rufus 
Choate,  was  delivering  one  of  his  most  powerful  appeals  for 
the  Union,  in  Huntington  Hall,  the  floor  suddenly  settled ; 
and  Lowell  narrowly  escaped  a  catastrophe  ten  fold  more  ap- 
palling than  that  which  Lawrence  afterward  suffered  ))V  tho 
fall  of  the  Pemberton  Mill.  There  v;ere  assembled,  not  only 
nearly  all  the  Lowell  politicians  of  all  parties,    (whose  loss 

*  Memoir  of  Lawrence,  -Ith  volume,  4th  series  of  the  Massachusetts  His- 
torii^al  Society's  Collectionfe.  pp.  4'.)5-507. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  153 

would  lia\;e  been  an  infinite  gain,)  but  more  than  three  tbou- 
sand  people  of  either  sex — as  many  as  could  stand  in  the  hall 
when  all  the  settees  had  been  removed.  The  consequences  of 
a  fall  of  the  building  under  such  circumstances  are  too  dread- 
ful for  contemplation. 

On  N^ovember  17th,  1856,  Thomas  Hopkinson,  one  of  the 
ablest  lawyers  that  ever  practiced  in  Lowell,  died  at  Cam- 
bridge, in  his  fifty-third  year.  He  was  born  at  New  Sharon, 
Maine,  August  25th,  ISO-t ;  graduated  at  Harvard  in  1830; 
studied  law  a  part  of  the  time  here  in  the  office  of  Lawrence 
&  Glidden,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1833.  With 
him  were  associated  as  law-partners,  first,  Seth  Ames,  and 
afterward,  Arthur  P.  Bonney.  He  was  a  Eepresentative  in 
the  Legislature  from  Lowell  in  1838  and  1845,  and  in  1846 
was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate.  In  1848  he  was  appointed 
a  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  but  resigned  his  seat 
on  the  bench  the  following  year  to  accept  the  Presidency  of 
the  Boston  and  Worcester  Piailroad,  which  position  he  held 
until  his  death.  He  sat  in  the  Constitutional  Convention  of 
1853  as  a  Delegate  from  Cambridge. 

From  1856  dates  the  present  Lowell  Jail,  constructed  ac- 
cording to  a  design  by  James  H.  Band.  The  architectural 
style  of  this  edifice  is  semi-Gothic,  difi'ering  in  some  respects 
from  any  other  structure  of  the  kind.  The  main  body  of  the 
building  is  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  feet  in  length  ;  and 
the  width  is  ninety  feet  in  front,  and  fifty-four  feet  in  the 
rear.  The  entire  frontage,  including  the  wings,  is  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-eight  feet.  It  is  four  stories  high,  with  an 
octagon  tower  on  each  of  the  front  corners  of  the  main  body  of 
the  edifice.  It  was  first  occupied,  March  20th,  1858.  The 
male  and  female  prisoners  are  kept  entirely  separate.  One  of 
the  wings  is  devoted  to  female  prisoners,  and  the  other  occu- 
pied as  the  residence  of  the  Sheriif,  who  is  also  the  Jailer. 
There  are  ninety  cells  for  males,  and  twelve  for  females,  two 
hospitals,  four  rooms  for  temporary  confinement,  with  kitchens, 


154  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

wash-rooms,  bath-rooms,  and  all  the  other  accompaniments  of 
a  modern  prison.  The  cost  of  this  handsome  edifice  was  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  The  senseless  manner 
in  which  the  County  Commissioners  wasted  the  people's  money 
on  this  jail,  brought  the  "ring"  which  has  so  long  controlled 
our  county  affairs  into  disrepute.  But  the  power  of  this  "  ring  " 
still  remains  unbroken. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  January,  1857,  the  distinguished  Thomas 
H.  Benton  visited  the  mills  of  Lowell,  and  spoke  in  the  eve- 
ning on  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  in  Huntington  Hall. 
Some  of  his  observations  were  of  a  local  character,  and  are 
too  valuable  to  be  omitted  :  — 

"  I  have  always  loved  to  view  the  moniiments  of  greatness.  Lowell  is 
one  of  those  monuments  herself.  When  I  entered  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  in  1823,  the  Meri-imack  Company  had  just  started  their  first  mill.  Now, 
Lowell  has  a  population  of  nearly  forty  thousand,  and  a  valuation  of  fifteen 
million  dollars.  During  mj'  first  year  in  the  Senate,  I  presented  a  statement 
that  cotton  would  become  a  great  staple  of  trade  between  the  North  and  the 
South.  But  I  was  disregarded.  Now,  Lowell  alone  uses  seventy  or  eighty 
thousand  bales  each  year;  yet  this  is  but  one  of  the  many  places  where  thi.s 
article  finds  a  market.  The  domestic  consumption  of  cotton  now  exceeds  in 
value  the  entire  exports  of  the  country  in  1823. 

"I  have  gone  through  your  factories,  from  top  to  bottom,  and  have  been 
astonished  at  the  perfection  of  your  machinery.  But  there  was  something 
which  astonished  me  even  more.  It  Avas  the  cleanliuess  which  pervaded 
every  department.  It  was  the  ample  rooms,  well  ventilated  in  summer,  and 
well  warmed  in  winter.  It  was  the  neat  and  comely  ai>pearance  of  the  oper- 
atives, both  male  and  female.  It  was  that  which  struck  me.  It  was  my  busi- 
ness to  converse  with  all.  I  conversed  with  the  young  women,  and  I  found 
them  attractive  and  comely,  modest  without  being  bashful,  of  easy  confi- 
dence without  assurance,  ready  in  conversation  without  forwardness,  and  of 
great  intelligence.  I  went  into  their  boarding  houses,  and  there  all  my  ideai? 
were  reversed;  for  I  had  before  me  the  picture  of  the  operatives  as  they  are 
(or  were)  in  the  old  world, — living  in  small,  narrow,  confined,  uncomfortable 
buildings,  stinted  for  food  and  clothing.  On  the  contrary,  I  found  the  opera- 
tives as  comfortably  and  as  handsomely  situated  as  members  of  Congress  in 
Washington.  They  live  in  large,  stately,  elegant  houses,  and  you  enter  in 
the  same  manner  as  you  enter  a  parlor  in  Washington.  You  are  shown  into 
the  parlor,  where  you  see  the  same  kind  of  furniture  as  you  will  find  in  a 
Congressman's  boarding-house  in  Washington.  The  tables  are  covered  with 
better  books  and  more  of  them,  if  we  except  public  documents,  than  are 
usually  found  in  a  Congressman's  parlor.  It  was  near  the  dinner-hour  when 
I  went  to  one  of  these  houses,  and  I  carx-ied  my  curiosity  so  far  as  to  ask  the 
mistress  of  the  house  to  take  me  into  the  cooking  department  and  sliow  me 
how  she  cooked.    She  said  she  was  taken  unawares,  and  was  not  prepared  for 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  155 

it.  I  said  that  that  was  exactly  the  tiling  I  wanted ;  I  wanted  to  see  it  as  it  was 
every  day.  Without  more  ado,  she  opened  the  door  and  led  me  in,  and  there 
was  cooking  going  on  in  a  room  so  neat  that  a  lady  might  sit  there  and  carry 
on  her  sewing  or  ornamental  work.  This  was  the  condition  in  whi;h  I  found 
the  houses  of  the  operatives;  and  to  all  these  comforts  they  add  the  leisure 
to  read  and  cultivate  the  mind,  l  was  struck  with  this  as  a  matter  pe;uli;!rly 
intere^^ting  in  those  v.ho  are  about  to  become  wives  of  one  generation  and 
mothers  of  the  next." 

In  1857,  James  M.  Harmon  started  a  weekly  paper  of  a 
highly  sensational  character — The  Trumpet.  His  personali- 
ties cost  him  one  severe  physical  castigation,  and  two  indict- 
ments for  libels,  one  on  Judge  Crosby,  the  other  on  a  brother 
editor,  Enoch  Emery.  For  the  former,  he  was  tried,  convicted 
and  incarcerated  for  three  mouths  in  the  House  of  Correction. 

In  1857,  died  Mary  Barnard,  a  widow,  and  an  operative  in 
the  Lowell  mills.  Upon  the  settlement  of  her  estate,  there 
remained  about  sixty  dollars,  which  was  paid  by  John  A.  But- 
trick,  her  executor,  to  Obcrlin  College,  her  residuary  legatee. 
He  who  valued  the  widow's  mite  above  other  more  lavish  gifts, 
will  surely  not  forget  Mary  Barnard's  charity.  It  was  the 
first  legacy  to  a  strictly  public  object  ever  left  by  a  citizen  of 
Lowell. 

On  September  10th,  1857,  was  opened  the  second  Pair  of 
the  Middlesex  Mechanics'  Association,  with  John  W.  Smith  as 
Superintendent.  It  closed  October  7th,  and  the  number  of 
exhibitors  was  1225.  The  managing  committee  were  Mertoun 
C.  Bryant,  (Chairman,)  Alfred  Oilman,  (Secretary,)  William 
Eiske,  Josiah  Oates,  Josiah  O.  Peabody,  Samuel  W.  Stickney, 
Erastus  Boydon,  Abiel  Kolfe,  James  Cook,  Sewall  G.  Mack, 
Andrew  Moody,  Hocum  Hosford,  John  Simpson,  Levi  Sprague, 
Samuel  K.  Hutchinson,  Samuel  J.  Varney,  Amos  Sanborn  and 
Francis  H.  Nourse. 

In  .1858,  two  divisions  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance  were 
formed  in  Lowell — Wamesit  and  Pawtucket.  Two  others 
were  afterward  added — Passaconaway  and  Equality.  Formed 
for  one  of  the  noblest  purposes,  thc}^  rapidly  degenerated  in 
character,  and  all  of  them  collapsed.      Other  societies  under 


156  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

different  names,  some  of  earlier,  and  some  of  later  date,  have 
had  the  same  origin,  and  the  same  end. 

In  1858,  the  late  William  Wyman  projected  an  observatory, 
to  be  erected  in  Belvidere,  to  be  one  hundred  feet  high,  and 
forty  feet  square.  The  foundations  only  were  laid  when  Cap- 
tain Wyman  died;  and  the  "Washington  Observatory"  exists 
only  on  paper.  It  was  as  much  a  work  of  folly  as  the  Tower 
of  Babel. 

From  the  same  year  dates  Washington  Square. 

On  January  25th,  1859,  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the 
birth  of  Eobert  Burns  was  celebrated  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Burns  Club,  which  has  occasionally  commemorated  this 
day  ever  since  1832,  by  a  supper,  songs,  speeches,  etc. 

It  was  about  the  same  time  that  Howard  Camp  of  the  order 
of  the  Sons  of  Malta  was  organized.  About  seven  hundred 
men  paid  five  dollars  a-piece  to  be  initiated  into  the  mysteries 
of  Maltaism,  which  was  probably  the  most  elaborate  humbug 
ever  started. 

On  March  2nd,  1859,  Plymouth  Eock  Lodge  of  the  Ameri- 
can Protestant  Association  was  instituted.  It  was  the  first 
branch  of  this  order  in  Massachusetts.  Another  Lodge  of  the 
same  order  was  instituted  May  27th,  1804,  which  took  the 
name  of  Washington. 

On  March  8th,  1859,  Jane  Ermina  Locke,  wife  of  John  Q, 
Locke,  died  at  Ashburnham.  Much  of  her  life  was  passed  in 
Lowell.  Mrs.  Locke  was  well  known  in  literary  circles.  A 
volume  of  poetical  waifs,  an  essay  on  pauperism  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  numerous  contributions,  in  prose  and  verse,  to  news- 
papers and  periodicals,  attested  the  fertility  of  her  pen. 

On  September  22nd,  1859,  the  two  hundred  and  fifth  anni- 
versary of  the  settlement  of  Chelmsford  was  signalized  in  that 
town  by  the  dedication  of  a  monument  to  the  men  of  Chelms- 
ford who  served  in  the  Eevolutionary  War. 

About  this  time,  there  was  no  little  agitation  for  a  law 
correcting  the  abuse  of  proxy-voting  in  the  meetings  of  stock- 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  157 

holders  of  manufacturing  companies,  and  for  a  law  compelling 
these  companies  to  hold  their  annual  meetings  where  their 
works  were  carried  on,  etc.  In  the  first  years  of  the  Merri- 
mack Company,  the  annual  meetings  of  the  stockholders  were 
held  in  Lowell.  The  dinners  eaten  on  those  occasions,  at  the 
Mansion  House,  and  at  the  Stone  House,  were  interesting  inci- 
dents in  the  lives  of  those  who  had  the  great  pleasure  to  be 
present.  Such  men  as  Daniel  Webster  and  Jeremiah  Mason 
attended,  and  treated  the  company  to  the  richest  feasts  of  post- 
prandial eloquence. 

In  December,  1859,  Eobert  B.  Caverly,  Captain  of  the  City 
Guards,  caused  Timothy  Pearson,  his  Third  Lieutenant,  to  be 
brought  to  trial  at  Sa,lem  for  perjury.  The  indictment  was 
supported  by  overwhelming  evidence;  and  nothing  seemed  more 
certain  than  that  Pearson  would  be  compelled  to  exchange  his 
uniform  as  a  Lieutenant  of  the  Guards  for  the  less  picturesque 
costume  of  the  State  Prison,  But  just  in  the  nick  of  time, 
Benjamin  F.  Butler,  the  defendant's  counsel,  discovered  a  flaw 
in  the  record,  and  Pearson  escaped.  Nearly  three  years  later, 
the  irrepressible  Caverly  broke  out  again  on  his  former  Lieu- 
tenant, and  petitioned  the  Supreme  Court  to  expel  Pearson  from 
the  Bar,  for  fraud,  perjury,  malpractice  and  extortion.  The 
animosity  of  Caverly  continued  unappeased  until  Pearson  paid 
him  all  his  costs,  and  went  away  into  the  army.  The  victo- 
rious Captain  then  sat  down,  and  tuning  his  triumphant  song, 
produced  his  poem  of  the  Merrimack. 
14 


158  HISTORY    OP    LOWELL. 


CHAPTEE  X. 


POLITICAL    HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


"Whigism  in  the  ascendant — Members  of  the  General  Conrt — Members  of  Con- 
gress— Edward  Everett — Caleb  dishing — Degradation  of  local  politics — 
A  Lowell  Caucus. 

The  principles  of  the  old  Whig  party  naturally  took  deep 
root  in  the  minds  of  the  Lowellians,  whose  industry  was  prom- 
ised "protection"  in  the  event  of  a  Whig  ascendency.  "  Two 
dollars  a  day  and  roast  beef "  was  to  be  the  pay  of  every 
mechanic  in  the  promised  Whig  millenium.  At  the  first  State 
election  in  which  Lowell  participated,  in  April,  1826,  she  gave 
Levi  Lincoln  ninety-five  votes,  and  James  Lloyd  fifty-three. 
From  that  time  down  to  the  Coalition  triumph  in  1851,  Lowell 
faltered  in  her  devotion  to  the  Whig  party  only  in  1836  and 
1842,  in  each  of  which  years  she  gave  a  majority  for  the  Dem- 
ocratic gubernatorial  nominee.  In  1851,  1852  and  1853,  she 
gave  a  plurality  vote  for  the  Whig  candidates  of  those  years, 
Robert  C.  Winthrop,  John  H.  Clifford  and  Emory  Washburn. 
In  1854,  she  lurched  into  Know  Nothingism,  and  gave  her 
vote  for  Henry  J.  Gardner,  whom  she  also  indorsed  in  1855 
and  1856.  Since  1856  she  has  steadily  supported  the  Eepub- 
lican  candidates  —  Nathaniel  P.  Banks,  John  A.  Andrew  and 
Alexander  H.  Bullock. 

No  citizen  of  Lowell  has  ever  been  made  Governor ;  though 
two  have  been  elected  Lieutenant  Governors — Elisha  Hunting- 
ton in  1853,  and  John  Nesmith  in  1862.  Three  Executive 
Councillors  have  also  been  elected  from  Lowell — John  Aiken 
in  1849,  Homer  Bartlett  in  1854,  and  Josiah  G.  Peabody  in 
1856.  Thomas  Talbot  of  Lowell  and  Billerica  was  a  member 
of  the  Executive  Council  in  1865,  1866,  1867  and  1868. 

On  May  8th,  1826,  Lowell  chose  as  her  first  Representative 
in  the  General  Court,  Nathaniel  Wright.  =-'^     Eight  years  later, 

*For  Ms  successors  in  the  House,  see  Appendix. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  159 

the  same  gentleman  became  the  first  State  Senator  from  Lowell. 
John  P.  Kobinson  was  Senator  in  1835,  William  Livingston 
in  1836  and  1837,  Joseph  W.  Mansur  in  1840,  Seth  Ames  in 
1841,  Josiah  G.  Abbott  in  1842  and  1843,  Eoyal  Southwick  in 
1844  and  1845,  Thomas  Hopkinson  in  1846,  John  A.  Knowles 
in  1847,  Tappan  Wentworth  in  1848  and  1849,  John  W.  Graves 
in  1850  and  185 1,-  Ithamar  W.  Beard  in  1852,f  John  A.  But- 
trick  in  1855  and  1856,  Arthur  P.  Bonney  and  Joseph  White 
in  1857. 

Prior  to  1857,  the  State  Senators  were  elected  by  the  coun- 
ties on  general  tickets.  By  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution, 
they  have  since  been  chosen  by  districts.  The  Senators  from 
the  Lowell  District  have  been  Arthur  P.  Bonney  in  1858  ; 
Benjamin  F.  Butler,  1859  ;  Ephraim  B.  Patch,  1800;  Arthur 
P.  Bonney,  1861;  Daniel  S.  Eichardson,  1862;  Samuel  A. 
Brown,  1863  and  1801;  Tappan  Wentworth,  1865  and  1866  ; 
Joshua  X.  Marshall,  1867  ;  and  Benjamin  F.  Clark,  1868. 
All  of  these  gentlemen  belonged  to  Lowell  except  the  last,  who 
is  a  Congregational  clergyman  in  North  Chelmsford. 

On  March  7th,  1853,  Josiah  G.  Abbott,  John  W.  Graves, 
Shubael  P.  Adams,  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  Andrew  T.  Nute, 
James  M.  Moore,  Abraham  Tilton,  James  K.  Fellows,  and 
Peter  Powers,  (being  the  whole  of  the  Coalition  ticket  except 
James  J.  Maguire,  who,  on  account  of  his  Irish  birth  and 
Roman  faith,  was  defeated,)  were  elected  Delegates  to  the 
Constitutional  Convention,  in  opposition  to  Elisha  Huntington, 
Benjamin  F.  French,  Daniel  S.  Richardson,  George  H.  Carle- 
ton,  Homer  Bartlett,  Benjamin  C.  Sargeant,  Uzziah  C.  Bur- 
nap,  William  North,  Stephen  Mansur  and  James  H.  B.  Ayer, 
Whigs. 

On  November  6th,  1826,  Lowell  participated  for  the  first 
time  in  the  election  of  a  Representative  in  Congress.    Twenty- 

*Dr.  Graves  Avas  the  only  Lowell  member  of  the  Legislature  of  ISol,  who 
voted  for  Charles  Sumuer,  for  United  States  Senator. 

t  Benjamin  Adams  of  Chelmsford  was  in  the  State  Senate  in  1853,  and 
Peter  Lawson  of  Dracut  in  1854. 


160  HISTORY    OP    LOWELL. 

two  votes — all  that  were  cast — were  then  given  for  Edward 
Everett,  who  ran  successfully  as  an  independent  Workingmen's 
candidate  against  John  Keyes,  the  candidate  of  the  old  County 
"ring."  At  the  next  election,  November  3rd,  1828,  Mr.  Ev- 
erett, running  as  the  Whig  candidate,  received  two  hundred 
and  seventy-eight  votes,  and  Leonard  M.  Parker  ninety-five. 
At  the  election  in  1830,  Mr.  Everett  received  two  hundred 
votes,  and  his  opponent,  James  Russell,  fifty-one.  Mr.  Ever- 
ett remained  in  the  House  of  Representatives  till  1836,  but 
by  the  re-arrangement  of  Congressional  Districts  under  the 
Census  of  1830,  Lowell  was  detached  from  his  District,  and 
ceased  to  be  represented  by  him.  The  subsequent  career  of 
Everett  as  Grovernor,  President  of  Harvard  University,  Minis- 
ter to  England,  Secretary  of  State,  and  United  States  Senator, 
is  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  whole  country. 

The  second  Representative  in  Congress  was  Gayton  P.  Os- 
good, an  able  lawyer,  an  old  bachelor,  and  a  Democrat,  who 
remained  in  Congress  one  term  only — from  1833  to  1835.  He 
was  the  only  Democratic  Representative  Lowell  ever  had  in 
Congress.     He  was  of  Andover. 

In  1835,  after  a  contest  rarely  equalled  in  the  annals  of 
party  strife,  Caleb  Cushing  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the 
District  including  Lowell.  The  Lowell  AYhigs  held  a  meeting 
at  midnight  to  exchange  congratulations  over  his  election. 
There  is  abundant  evidence  that  the  AVhigs  of  the  District 
felt  it  a'  great  honor  to  be  represented  by  such  a  man  as  Mr. 
Cushing,  who  was  recognized  as  the  equal  of  any  man  in  the 
House,  and  who  was  never  tired  of  serving  even  the  humblest 
of  his  constituents  in  every  proper  way.  Mr.  Cushing  con- 
tinued to  represent  the  Lowell  District  till  1843.  When  the 
Whig  State  Convention,  in  1842,  under  the  dictation  of  Abbott 
Lawrence,  passed  their  stupid  resolution  of  ''eternal  separa- 
tion" from  the  Administration  of  John  Tyler,  Mr.  Cushing, 
following  the  lead  of  Mr.  Webster,  refused  to  concur.  There- 
upon, various  hungry  politicians,  who  were  not  worthy  to  black 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  161 

Mr.  Custing's  boots,  combined  to  rob  liim  of  tbe  confidence  of 
his  constituents  by  an  active  and  unscrupulous  use  of  the 
coward's  favorite  weapon  —  calumny.  Weakened  by  these 
nefarious  tactics,  Mr.  Gushing  retired  from  Congress,  and  ac- 
cepted the  mission  to  China.  It  has  been  common  to  sneer  at 
Mr.  Gushing  as  one  who  Tylerized.  But  as  between  Mr.  Gush- 
ing and  his  adversaries  in  the  controversy  of  1842,  the  calm 
verdict  of  history  must  clearly  be  given  to  him.  His  course 
throughout  was  in  perfect  harmony  with  his  masterly  address 
to  his  constituents,  in  September,  1841,  in  which  he  warned 
the  Whigs  against  the  folly  into  which  they  were  then  running 
under  the  Caucus-Dictatorship  of  Mr.  Clay — the  folly  of  com- 
mitting "  suicide,  in  order  to  avoid  the  danger  of  dying  a  nat- 
ural death."  Having  elected  T^^er,  who  was  with  them  on 
most  questions,  though  not  wholly  with  them  on  all,  he  thought 
it  the  part  of  a  practical  Whig  statesman  to  carry  as  many  of 
his  measures  as  he  could  under  Tyler's  Administration ;  and 
he  was  right.  Mr.  Gushing  saw  clearly  and  declared  frankly 
that  to  follow  the  petulant  policy  dictated  by  Clay,  was  to 
waste  life  in  a  vain  chase  after  bubbles.  Considering  with 
what  blind  persistence  this  fatal  policy  was  pursued,  and  with 
what  disastrous  results,  it  cannot  be  wondered  that  Mr.  Gush- 
ing, with  his  broader  statesmanship  and  catholicity  of  feeling, 
held  himself  aloof  until  his  quondam  friends  had  achieved 
their  ruin  ;  and  that  afterward,  when  the  old  issues  had  be- 
come obsolete,  and  new  issues  had  arisen,  he  sought  a  more 
congenial  home  in  the  Democratic  party.  Of  his  services  as 
Colonel  and  Brigadier-General  during  the  Mexican  War,  we 
shall  not  here  speak.  Nor  is  this  the  place  to  dwell  on  his 
subsequent  career  as  Mayor  of  Newburyport,  Kepresentative 
in  the  Legislature, =••'=  Judge  of  the  Supreme   Court,  Attorney 

*  During  his  long  career  in  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  it  is  said,  Mr. 
Gushing  never  received  pay  for  a  single  day  M^hen  he  was  not  in  actual  attend- 
ance. His  unselfishness  in  this  conti-asts  sti-ongly  with  the  gx'eediaess  of 
some  Legislators  of  a  later  day. 

140 


162  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

General  of  the  United  States,  President  of  the  Charleston 
Convention  of  1860,  Commissioner  to  codify  the  United  States 
Statutes,  etc. 

The  successor  of  Mr.  Cushing  in  Congress  was  Amos  Ab- 
bott—  a  good,  clever  man,  who  had  achieved  distinguished 
success  as  keeper  of  a  grocer's  shop,  at  the  cross-roads  in 
Andover  ;  but  utterly  insignificant  in  Congress.  He  retained 
his  seat  six  years.  In  1849,  James  H.  Duncan  of  Haverhill, 
succeeded  him  and  was  re-elected  for  a  second  term. 

In  1852,  the  Congressional  election  was  closely  contested 
between  Henry  Wilson,  Coalitionist,  and  Tappan  AYentworth 
of  Lowell,  Whig.  The  tactics  used  to  defeat  Gen.  AVilson  had 
l^etter  not  be  scrutinized  too  closely.  His  defeat,  however, 
was  one  of  the  most  fortunate  events  in  a  life  remarkably  full 
of  vicissitudes.  Had  he  been  elected  to  the  House  in  1852, 
he  would  hardly  have  been  a  candidate  for  the  Senate  in  1855  ; 
and  the  chair  then  vacated  by  Edward  Everett  would  probably 
have  been  filled  by  Marshall  P.  Wilder  or  Henry  J.  Gardner. 

Mr.  Wentworth's  successors  have  been  Chauncey  L.  Knapp, 
from  1855  to  1859  ;  Charles  E.  Train,  from  1859  to  1863  ; 
and  George  S.  Pout  well,  from  1803  to  1869. 

It  may  here  be  mentioned  that,  in  1866,  Benjamin  E.  But- 
ler of  Lowell  and  Gloucester  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the 
District  including  the  last  named  town. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  Lowell  has  become  a  political 
Bceotia, — that  her  politics,  her  office-holders  and  her  office- 
seekers  are  the  opprobrium  of  the  Commonwealth.  She  is 
cursed  with  miserable  "bummers,"  of  both  parties,  who,  were 
they  suddenly  placed  in  the  Common  Council  of  New  York, 
would  have  nothing  to  learn  of  political  chicanery,  but  might 
be  able  to  impart  some  valuable  suggestions  to  Eernando  Wood 
himself.  There  was  a  time  when  her  position  was  quite  other- 
wise,— when  her  citizens  delighted  in  bringing  into  public  life 
men  of  broad  culture  and  of  elevated  character, — men  who 
were  not  content  with  the  small  fame  of  mere  place-holding, 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  163 

but  who  trained  their  minds  assiduously  to  the  study  of  the 
higher  politics.  That  she  may  yet  recover  her  former  good 
name, — that  a  nobler  set  of  men  may  hereafter  arise, — a  set 
worthy  to  stand  in  the  place  of  Bartlett,  of  Hopkinson,  of 
Lawrence,  and  of  Eobinson, — is  a  matter  rather  of  brave  hope, 
than  of  confident  expectation. 

The  demoralization  of  our  local  politics  began  sometime 
prior  to  1850,  and  was  much  accelerated  by  the  Coalition  of 
that  time  ;  but  its  grand  impetus  was  derived  from  the  Know 
Nothing  movement  of  1854,  which  suddenly  changed  all  the 
loafers  of  the  city,  of  native  birth,  into  scheming  politicians. 
To  show  how  political  meetings  have  been  conducted  in  Lowell 

during  the  last  dozen  years,  we  present  the  following  report 

prepared  at  the  time  for  another  purpose — of  the  proceedino-s 
of  a  Eepublican  caucus  which  met  in  Jackson  Hall,  Septem- 
ber 29th,  1860,  to  choose  delegates  to  the  County,  Councillor 
and  Congressional  District  Conventions;  the  contest  for  the 
Congressional  nomination  being  between  Charles  E.  Train  and 
George  S.  Boutv/ell : — 

Promptly  at  the  appointed  hour,  Hubbard  Willson  ascended  the  platform, 
and  called  for  a  nomination  for  the  Chair.  Several  Train  men  instantly 
responded  "H.  G.  Blaisdell,"  while  about  twenty  Boutwell  men  shouted 
"  Charles  Cowley,"  who  was  almost  unanimously  chosen  Chairman,  with  G. 
A.  Gerry  as  Secretary.  On  motion  of  Timothy  Pearson  (Boutwell),  it  was 
voted  that  a  committee  of  five  from  each  ward  be  chosen  by  nomination 
from  the  floor,  to  nominate  twenty-six  delegates  to  the  Congressional  Con- 
vention. During  the  appointment  of  this  committee,  Theodore  H.  Sweetser 
moved  that  the  meeting  adjourn  to  the  several  ward  rooms,  and  that  the 
delegates  be  chosen  there.  The  Chair  decided  that  this  motion  was  not  then 
in  order.  Mr.  Sweetser  appealed  from  this  decision  to  the  meeting,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  discuss  his  appeal.  Mr.  Pearson  rose  to  a  point  of  order,— that 
the  appeal  was  not  ilebatable.  The  Chair  overruled  the  point  of  order,  and 
allowed  Mr.  Sweetser  to  proceed.  Mr.  Pearson  then  moved  the  previous 
question ;  but  the  Chair  ruled  that  the  previous  question  was  not  in  order  in 
a  popular  assembly.  At  the  close  of  the  debate,  the  Chair  put  the  question, 
"  Shall  the  decision  of  the  Chair  stand  as  the  decision  of  the  meeting,"  and 
appointed  tellers  to  count  the  votes.  The  Chair  was  sustained — yeas  102; 
nays,  24.    The  committee  was  then  filled — largely  by  Boutwell  men. 

Another  committee  was  chosen  in  the  same  manner  to  nominate  dele- 
gates to  the  County  and  Councillor  Conventions.  As  there  was  no  great 
contest  over  this  part  of  the  business,  this  committee  was  the  fii-st  to  report, 


164  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

and  the  report  was  adopted.  Charles  A.  Stott  oflered  a  resolution  endorsing 
the  Congressional  career  of  Mr.  Train,  which,  hehig  explained  as  not  in- 
tended to  instruct  the  delegates,  was  adopted.  H.  L.  C.  Newton  stated  that 
there  wei*e  Democrats  voting  for  the  Train  resolution,  and  inquired  who 
was  to  decide  whether  a  man  was  a  Democrat  or  a  Republican.  The  Chair 
answered  that  every  man  must  decide  for  himself,  subject  to  the  control  of 
the  meeting. 

The  committee  first  chosen  then  reported,  nominating  John  Wright,  John 
Nesmith,  C.  L.  Knapp,  F.  H.  Nourse,  J.  G.  Peabody,  John  W.  Smith,  and 
twenty  others,  mostly  Boutwell  men,  as  the  delegates  to  the  Congressional 
Convention.  Mr.  Pearson  moved  the  adoption  of  this  report.  Mr.  Sweetser 
moved  an  amendment,— that  the  names  be  voted  on  singly.  The  objection 
was  made  that  the  amendment  was  not  in  order;  but  this  objection  was  over- 
ruled by  the  Chair.    The  amendment  was  lost — yeas,  97;  nays,  11.3. 

Enraged  at  the  prospect  of  tlieir  defeat,  the  Train  men  now  resolved  to 
protract  the  meeting  by  an  adroit  course  of  parliamentaiy  "filibustering" 
until  enough  of  their  opponents  had  gone  home  to  leave  them  in  the  ascend- 
ant. Seeing  this,  at  about  eleven  o'clock,  the  Bovitwell  men  made  and  carried 
amotion  to  adjourn.  Then  ensued  a  "bolt"  ot  the  Trainmen — creating  a 
division  in  the  part}'  which  was  not  healed  for  seven  years.  Jonathan  Ladd 
mounted  the  platform,  and  proposed  that  Linus  Child  be  chosen  Chairman. 
Mr.  Child  accordingly  took  the  Chair,  and  twenty-six  more  delegates  were 
chosen,  all  friends  of  Mr.  Train. 

Why  so  much  importance  was  attached  to  the  choice  of  the  Lowell  dele- 
gation, was,  that  the  other  delegates  were  so  closely  divided  between  Train 
and  Boutwell  that  he  who  secured  the  Lowell  delegation  was  sure  of  the 
nomination,  which  was  equivalent  to  an  election.  Now  that  the  seats  of  the 
Lowell  delegates  were  contested,  everything  depended  on  getting  a  majority 
of  the  delegates  from  the  towns.  To  aid  them  in  this,  the  Train  men  subsi- 
dized several  influential  newspapers,  and  called  a  mass  meeting  in  Huntington 
Hall,  to  denounce  the  Boiitwell  men  lor  doiug  precisely  Avhat  they  had  done 
themselves.  Had  a  majority  of  the  delegates  outside  of  Lowell  been  friendly 
to  Mr.  BoutweU,  the  delegates  of  the  bolters  would  have  been  excluded  from 
the  Convention.  But  the  Train  men  having  obtained  a  majority  of  the  dele- 
gates outside  of  Lowell,  they  were  enabled  to  secure  the  admission  of  the 
bolting  delegates  on  the  same  footing  as  those  regularly  chosen. 

Thus,  it  was  largely  througli  the  Lowell  caucus  that  Mr. 
Train  secured  his  seat  in  Congress  for  his  second  terni, — that 
George  S.  Boutwell  became  Commissioner  of  Internal  Ee venue, 
— that  John  S.  Kejes  obtained  the  United  States  Marshalship 
and  a  fortune, — that  John  A,  Goodwin  was  made  Postmaster 
of  Lowell,  and  Jonathan  Ladd  Paymaster  of  Volunteers.  Nor 
were  these  all  or  half  the  consequences,  personal  and  politi- 
cal, of  the  meeting,  the  doings  of  which  we  have  now  recorded. 
No  caucus  ever  held  in  Lowell, — not  the  AVhig  caucus  of  1852, 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  165 

which  was  packed  and  controlled  so  skillfully  by  Tappan  Went- 
worth, — nor  the  Union  caucus  of  1862,  which  had  two  Chair- 
men, and  was  about  to  choose  a  third,  when  the  gas  was  turned 
off  by  the  police, — has  been  more  prolific  of  results  than  the 
Republican  Congressional  caucus  of  1860. 


CHAPTER  XL 

MUNICIPAL    HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

Town— Selectinen— Clerks  —  Treasurers  —  City  —  Jrayors— Treasurers—  Mar- 
shals—Auditors— Chief  Engiueers— Physicians— Solicitors— Presidents  of 
the  Common  Council— Election  Troubles— Origin  of  Municipal  Govern- 
ment. 

Lowell  is  not  a  municipality,  in  the  older  and  better  sense  of 
that  word.  Our  population, — various  in  origin,  heterogeneous 
in  character,  thrown  together  by  chance,  constantl}^  distributing 
itself  hither  and  thither,  with  nothing  about  it  permanent  ex- 
cept its  changeability, — is,  and  always  has  been,  grossly  want- 
ing in  the  municipal  spirit.  It  would  be  easy  to  name  many, 
of  the  living  and  of  the  dead,  who  were  proud  of  Lowell,  and 
who  strove,  with  fond  solicitude,  to  make  her  worthy  of  their 
pride.  But  the  Lowellians  generally  have  no  such  feeling. 
The  genius  loci  is  not  in  them. 

This  want  of  the  municipal  spirit  has  manifested  itself  in 
various  ways — in  business,  in  politics,  and  especially  in  the 
low  character  of  too  many  of  the  men  whom  the  caprices  of 
the  people,  or  the  chance-medley  of  the  caucus,  has  again  and 
again  invested  with  public  functions.  Under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, time  would  gradually  develop  this  minor  form  of 
patriotism.      But  it  has  not  done  so   here.      We  have  gone 


166  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

backward  rather  than  forward.  In  the  first  years  of  Lowell, 
three-fourths  of .  the  men  placed  in  public  authority,  were 
among  the  best  men  living  here.  But  none  will  pretend  that 
such  has  been  the  fact  during  the  last  twenty  years. 

John  Stuart  Mill  observes  that  "the  greatest  imperfection 
of  popular  local  institutions  and  the  chief  cause  of  the  failure 
which  so  often  attends  them,  is  the  low  calibre  of  the  men  by 
whom  they  are  carried  on." 

The  municipal  existence  of  Lowell  began,  March  1st,  1826, 
the  date  of  Governor  Lincoln's  approval  of  the  act  incorporat- 
ing her  as  a  town.  She  continued  a  town  during  ten  years. 
Her  eleven  boards  of  selectmen  were  as  follows  : 

1826— Nathaniel  Wright,  Samuel  Batchelder,  O.  M.  Whipple. 

1827— Nathaniel  Wright,  Joshua  Swan,  Henrj-  Cohurn,  Jr. 

1828 — Nathaniel  Wright,  Joshua  Swan,  Artemas  Young. 

1829 — Nathaniel  Wright,  Joshua  Swan,  Artemas  Young, 

1830 — Joshua  Swan,  Artemas  Young,  James  Tyler. 

1831 — Joshua  Swan,  Artemas  Young,  James  Tyler. 

1832 — Joshua  Swan,  Matthias  Parkhurst,  Josiah  Crosby,  Benjamin  Walker, 
S.  C.  Oliver. 

1833— Joshua  Swan,  Matthias  Parkhurst,  Benjamin  Walker,  Elisha  Hun- 
tington, S.  C.  Oliver. 

1834 — Joshua  Swan,  Elisha  Huntington,  William  Livingston,  Jesse  Fox, 
Benjamin  Walker. 

1835 — Benjamin  Walker,  James  Kussell,  William  Livingston,  John  Chase, 
William  N.  Owen. 

183G — Benjamin  Walker,  James  Russell,  William  Living&ton,  John  Chase, 
William  N.  Owen. 

Samuel  A,  Coburn  was  Town  Clerk  from  the  beginning,  and 
continued  in  office  two  years  after  the  adoption  of  the  City 
Charter.  He  was  succeeded  in  1838  by  Thomas  Ordway,  who 
held  his  office  sixteen  years.  In  1854,  William  Lamson,  Jr., 
became  City  Clerk;  and  in  1858  he  was  succeeded  by  John 
H.  McAlvin,  the  present  incumbent. 

The  office  of  Town  Treasurer  was  filled  by  Artemas  Holden 
from  the  incorporation  of  the  town  to  the  adoption  of  the  City 
Charter. 

The  office  of  Town  Tax  Collector,  created  in  1828,  was  filled 

in  1828  by  Luther  Marshall ;  in  1829  by  Josiah  B.  French ;  in 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  167 

1830  by  James  Kussell ;  in  1831  by  William  Lamb;  in  1832 
and  1833  by  Isaac  Bancroft;  in  1834  by  Joseph  Tyler  and 
Abner  W.  Buttrick,  the  last  of  whom  was  also  Tax  Collector 
in  1835. 

The  Act  to  establish  the  City  of  Lowell  was  approved  by 
Governor  Everett,  April  1st,  1836.  The  canvass  proceeding 
the  first  City  election  was  an  exciting  one.  The  Whig  and 
Democratic  parties  were  nearly  equally  balanced,  and  party 
feeling  was  at  fever  heat.  Each  party  was  desirous  of  the 
honor  of  inaugurating  the  young  municipality.  Each  party 
nominated  its  most  available  candidate.  The  Whigs  con- 
centrated their  strength  on  Elisha  Bartiett : — the  Democracy 
nominated  Eliphalet  Case.  The  Whigs  triumphed.  Dr.  Bart- 
iett received  nine  hundred  and  fifty-eight  votes;  Mr.  Case, 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-eight ;  Oliver  M.  Whipple,  seventeen  ; 
John  Dummer,  two.  Dr.  Bartiett  was  inaugurated  as  Mayor, 
and  was  re-elected  in  1837.  He  was  highly  popular  as  Mayor; 
but  on  the  expiration  of  his  second  term,  he  positively  "de- 
clined all  further  service  in  this  line." 

The  successor  of  Dr.  Bartiett  was  Luther  Lawrence,  who 
was  re-elected  in  1839,  and  whose  tragic  death  has  already 
been  recorded.  The  vacancy  created  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Law- 
rence, was  filled  by  the  City  Council  by  the  election  of  Elisha 
Huntington,  who  was  re-elected  by  the  people  in  1840  and 
1841.  Nathaniel  Wright  was  elected  Mayor  in  1842,  on  the 
first  "Citizens'"  ticket  that  was  run  in  Lowell.  In  1843,  he 
was  re-elected  on  the  Whig  ticket.  In  1844  and  1845,  Dr. 
Huntington,  who  had  been  beaten  by  Mr.  Weight  in  1842,  was 
again  Mayor,  and  was  succeeded  in  1846  by  Jeff"erson  Bancroft. 
By  an  amendment  to  the  City  Charter,  the  time  of  the  muni- 
cipal election  was  now  changed  from  the  first  Monday  of  March 
to  the  second  Monday  of  December,  annually.  The  commence- 
ment of  the  municipal  year  was  also  changed  from  the  first 
Monday  of  April  to  the  first  Monday  in  January.  Mr.  Ban- 
croft was  re-elected  Mayor  in  1847  and  1848.      In  1849  the 


168  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

Whigs  were  again  ousted,  and  Josiah  B.  French,  Coalitionist, 
became  Mayor.  He  was  re-elected  in  1850.  During  the  next 
four  years,  the  Whigs  were  successful,  and  elected  J.  H.  B. 
Ayer  in  1851,  Dr.  Huntington  in  1852,  and  Sewall  G.  Mack 
in  1853  and  1854.  The  Know  Nothing  spasm  of  1854  made 
Ambrose  Lawrence  Mayor  in  1855.  A  Citizens'  ticket  re- 
stored Dr.  HuntiDgtou  to  the  chair  that  he  loved  so  well  in 
1856,  but  broke  down  under  him  at  the  next  election  ;  and  in 
1857  Stephen  Mansur  became  the  first  Republican  Mayor. 
He  was  a  good  man,  and  made  an  honest  effort  to  execute  the 
laws  for  the  suppression  of  the  rum  traffic,  but  was  dropped 
at  the  next  election,  when,  by  a  Citizens'  movement.  Dr.  Hun- 
tington, for  the  eighth  and  last  time,  was  re-elected  to  the 
executive  chair.  During  the  three  following  years  the  Re- 
publicans were  successful :  James  Cook  was  Mayor  in  1859, 
and  Benjamin  C.  Sargeant  in  18G0  and  1861.  Hocum  Hosford 
succeeded  in  1862-  and  1863  on  "Citizens'"  tickets,  and  in 
1864,  without  opposition,  on  a  Republican  ticket.  Josiah  G-. 
Peabody  became  Mayor  in  1865  and  1866,  and  was  succeeded 
by  George  F.  Richardson  in  1867  and  1868.t 

The  first  City  Treasurer  was  William  Davidson,  and  the 
first  City  Collector  of  Taxes,  Bryan  Morse,  through  whom  the 
City  lost  $10,000  of  its  funds.;  In  1837,  the  duties  of  Tax 
Collector  were  superadded  to  those  of  Treasurer.  These  offices 
have  been  filled  by  the  following  gentlemen — William  David- 
son from  1837  to  1842;  John  A.  Buttrick  from  1843  to  1846 ; 
Ithamar  A.  Beard  from  1847  to  1850  ;  John  F.  Kimball  from 
1851  to  1855  ;  Isaac  C.  Eastman  from  1856  to  1860;  and 
George  W.  Bedlow  from  1861  to  1864,  when  he  resigned  and 
was  succeeded  by  Thomas  G.  Gerrish. 

*  At  the  election  of  Mayor  in  )861,  Dr.  John  W.  Graves,  Mr.  Hosford's 
opponent,  probably  received  a  majority  of  the  votes,  but  a  fraud  or  mistake 
in  counting  the  votes  in  Ward  Five  turned  the  scale  against  him. 

tThe  Boards  of  Aldermen  and  Common  Conncilmen  are  republished 
annually  in  the  Municipal  Register,  and  are  therefore  omitted  here. 

X  7  Metcalf,  p.  152. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  169 

The  City  Marshals  have  been — Zaccheus  Shed  in  1836  and 
1837  ;  Henry  T.  Mowatt  in  1838  ;  Joseph  Butterfield  in  1839  ; 
Zaccheus  Shedd  in  1840  and  1841  ;  Charles  J.  Adams  from 
1842  to  1847  ;  Zaccheus  Shedd  in  1848  ;  George  P.  Waldron 
in  1849,  and  Zaccheus  Shedd  in  1850.  Charles  J.  Adams 
came  in  again  in  1851,  but  afterward  resigned,  and  James  H. 
Corrin  succeeded  him.  From  1852  to  1854  Edwin  L.  Shed 
was  City  Marshal;  in  1855,  Samuel  Miller;  in  1856,  Wil- 
liam H.  Clemence;  in  1857,  Eben  H.  Eand ;  in  1858,  William 
H.  Clemence;  in  1859,  Eben  H.  Eand;  in  1860  and  1861, 
Frederick  Lovejoy,  to  whom  in  1862  succeeded  Bickford  Lang. 

The  City  Auditors  have  been — John  Nesmith,  1836;  Joseph 
W.  Mansur,  1837;  Horatio  G.  E.  Corliss,  1838;  John  G. 
Locke,  from  1840  to  1848  ;  George  A.  Butterfield  in  1849  and 

1850  ;  William  Lamson,  Junior,  from  1851  to  1853;  Leonard 
Brown,  1854  and  1855;  James  J.  Maguire,  1856  ;  Henry  A. 
Lord,  1857,  and  since  1857,  George  Gardner. 

The  Chief  Engineers  have  been — Charles  L.  Tilden,  1836 
and  1837;  Jonathan  M.  Marston,  1838;  William  Fiske,  1839; 
Josiah  B.  French  from  1840  to  1842;  Jonathan  M.  Marston, 
1843;  Jefferson  Bancroft,  1844  and  1845;  Aaron  H.  Sherman 
from  1846  to  1849;  Horace  Howard  from  1850  to  1852; 
Lewis  A.  Cutler,  1853  ;  Weare  Clifford,  from  1854  to  1859  ; 
Asahel  D.  Puffer,  from  1860  to  1862;  Joseph  Tilton,  1868 
and  1864;  Weare  Clifford,  1865  and  1866;  and  George  W. 
Waymoth,  1867  and  1868. 

The  sick  poor  of  Lowell  have  had  for  their  medicai  advisers 
the  following  City  Physicians — Charles  P.  Coffin,  from  1836 
to  IS 39  ;  Elisha  Bartlett,  1840  and  1841 ;  Abraham  D.  Dear- 
born, 1842  and  1843;  David  Wells,  from  1844  to  1846;- 
Abner  H.  Brown,  from  1847  to  1850;   Joel  Spaulding,  from: 

1851  to  1855;  Luther  B.  Morse,  1856  and  1857;  John  W. 
Graves  from  1858  to  1860  ;  Moses  W.  Kidder,  from  1861  to 
1863;  Nathan  Allen,  1864  and  1865  ;  and  George  E.  Pink- 
ham,  1866,  1867  and  1868. 

15 


170  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

The  Law  Department  was  not  established  till  1840,  when 
Thomas  Hopkinson  was  chosen  City  Solicitor.  His  successors 
have  been — John  A.  Kuowles,  1841 ;  Eichard  G.  Colby,  1842; 
Seth  Ames  from  1843  to  1849  ;  Isaac  S.  Morse,  from  1850  to 
1852;  Theodore  H.  Sweetser,  1853  and  1854;  Arthur  P. 
Bonney,  1855;  Alpheus  K.  Brown,  1856;  Eobert  B.  Caverly, 
1857;  Alpheus  E.  Brown,  1858;  Theodore  H.  Sweetser,  from 
1859  to  1861  ;  Alpheus  E.  Brown,  1862  and  1863  ;  Tappan 
Wentworth,  from  1864  to  1866;  and  George  Stevens,  1867 
and  18158. 

The  following  named  gentlemen  have  been  Presidents  of  the 
Common  Council,  most  of  them  more  than  once — John  Clark, 
Elisha  Huntington,  Thomas  Hopkinson,  Pelham  W.  Warren, 
Tappan  AVentworth,  Joseph  W.  Mansur,  Oliver  March,  Daniel 
S.  Eichardson,  Joel  Adams,  John  Aiken,  Ivers  Taylor,  George 
Gardner,  Benjamin  C.  Sargeant,  William  A.  Eichardson,  Al- 
fred Gilman,  Frederick  Holton,  William  P.  Webster,  William 
F.  Salmon,  William  L.  North,  George  F.  Eichardson,  George 
Eipley,  Gustavus  A.  Gerry,  and  Alfred  H.  Chase. 

In  February,  1852,  Mayor  Ayer  and  his  Aldermen  were 
indicted  by  the  Grand  Jury  '*  for  a  neglect  of  official  duty." 
At  the  State  election  of  1851,  the  number  of  votes  cast  in 
Ward  Four  was  811  ;  but,  through  a  glaring  blunder,  the 
number  returned  was  8,038.  But  no  fraud  being  intended, 
the  defendants  were  not  convicted/--^  The  case  was  one  of 
those,  far  too  numerous,  in  which  the  inquisitorial  powers  of 
grand  juries  have  been  meanly  used  as  the  instruments  of 
personal  and  political  rivalry  and  rancor. 

The  incidents  of  our  municipal  history,  that  possess  general 
interest,  are  few.  Consequently  this  chapter  is  largely  devoted 
to  the  successions  of  local  officials.  To  some,  such  details 
will  appear  trivial.     Nevertheless, 

"  These  little  things  are  great  to  little  man." 

Writers  of  a  certain  class  speak  continually  of  our  modern 
forms  of  municipal  government  as  having  originated  among 
*Cushing's  Contested  Elections,  pp.  639-<)74. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  171 

the  Teutonic  tribes  of  ancient  central  Europe.  But  those  "who 
have  most  carefully  studied  the  history  of  republican  and  im- 
perial Kome,  know  that  these  municipal  institutions  originated, 
not  with  the  barbarous  tribes  of  Germany,  but  with  those  mas- 
ters of  the  ancient  world — the  Komans.  For  the  purpose  of 
promoting  union  and  uniformity  between  the  victors  and  the 
vanquished,  and  perhaps  also  from  a  love  of  methodicity,  the 
Romans  established  in  the  cities  of  all  the  provinces  which 
owned  their  sway,  municipal  institutions  identical  with  those 
of  the  great  mother-city,  Rome.  The  forms  thus  established 
have  continued  in  Europe  until  now  ;  and  it  is  a  remarkable 
proof  of  the  wisdom  of  the  Romans,  that  when  the  great  towns 
of  the  New  World  found  it  desirable  to  perfect  their  munici- 
pal institutions,  they  could  devise  no  better  forms  than  those 
instituted  on  the  Tiber  so  many  centuries  ago. 

In  every  city  of  that  world-empire  were  two  executive  mag- 
istrates called  Duumviri,  answering  to  the  Consuls  at  Rome. 
In  lieu  of  the  Senate,  there  was  a  body  of  Decurions,  (so 
called  because,  originally,  every  tenth  man  belonged  to  it,) 
answering  to  our  modern  Aldermen,  as  the  Decuries  answered 
to  Wards.  The  Duumviri  were  subsequently  called  Provosts 
or  Bailiffs,  and,  at  a  still  later  day,  Mayors ;  though  some, 
perhaps,  may  say  that  the  Mayor  corresponds  more  nearly  with 
the  Princeps  Senatus,  or  President  of  the  Senate.  Two  changes 
— some  may  call  them  improvements — have  been  introduced  : 
the  executive  functions  have  been  vested  in  one  officer,  instead 
of  two  ;  while  the  legislative  body  has  been  divided  into  two 
branches,  instead  of  sitting  as  one,  as  was  the  custom  in  Rome. 
Thus,  the  same  municipal  forms  under  which  our  ancestors 
lived  in  the  times  of  the  Caesers,  have  outlived  the  dissolution 
of  civilization  in  the  ancient  world,  and,  crossing  the  middle 
aflfes  and  the  Atlantic,  have  come  down  to  us. 


172  HISTORY    OF   LOWELL. 

CHAPTEK  XII. 

LOWELL    DURING    THE    REBELLION. 

Gen.  Whiting— F.  G.  Fontane— Gen.  Butler— Capt.  Fox— Fort  Sumter— 
The  Sixth— Riot  in  Baltimore— Ladd  and  Wliitney— Hill  Cadets— Rich- 
ardson Infantiy — Abbott  Greys— Butler  Rifles — Soldiers'  Aid  Association 
—The  Twenty-Sixth,  Thirtieth,  and  Thirty-Third— LoAvell  Officers  Killed 
— The  Conscription — Filteeutii  Battery— Sanitary  Fair— State  Aid— Boun- 
ties— Summaries,  etc. 

In  opening  tlie  record  of  the  part  borne  by  our  people  in 
the  war  for  the  suppression  of  the  Rebellion,  it  is  but  fair  to 
say,  that  some  of  the  adherents  of  "the  Lost  Cause"  were 
also,  in  early  life,  identified  with  Lowell.  Several  of  these 
became  quite  famous  :  for  the  fame  of  a  career  is  often  wholly 
independent  of  its  intrinsic  merit. 

"  The  aspiring  youth  who  flred  the  Ephesian  dome, 
Outlives  in  fame  the  pious  fool  who  raised  it." 

Major-General  Eobert  E.  K.  Whiting,  one  of  the  most  scien- 
tific, yet  one  of  the  most  unfortunate  of  the  Confederate  chiefs, 
spent  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  his  boyhood  in  Lowell,  and 
from  1845  to  1847  Gtood  well  as  a  pupil  in  the  High  School. 

Mightier  than  the  sword  of  Whiting  was  the  pen  of  F.  G. 
Eontane,  one  of  the  ablest  of  that  junta  of  journalists  whose 
passionate  editorial  appeals  contributed  so  much  to  "  fire  the 
Southern  heart,"  and  precipitate  the  bloody  struggle.  He,  too, 
passed  much  of  his  boyhood  here,  and  wrote  juvenile  ''compo- 
sitions" in  the  High  School,  little  dreaming  how  many  spirited 
battle-scenes  he  would  one  day  sketch  over  his  famous  nome  de 
guerre  of  "  Personne."-'* 

The  disruption  of  the  Democratic  N'ational  Convention  of 
1860,  contributed  directly  and  powerfully  to  that  volume  of 
influences  the  result  of  which  was — Yf  ar.  Not  the  least  among 
those  who  participated  in  that  work  of  disruption  was  Ben- 

*  His  father  prepared  "  the  Balm  of  a  Thousand  Flowers." 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  173 

jamin  F.  Butler,  who,  born  on  Guy  Fawkes*  Day,  has  a  congen- 
ital penchant  for  plots  and  conspiracies.  What  Dry  den  said 
of  Shaftesbury,  will  apply  to  him  : — 

"  For  close  designs  and  crooked  counsels  fit, 
Sagacious,  bold,  and  turljulent  of  wit.  ... 
A  daring  pilot  in  extremity, 
Pleased  with  the  danger  when  the  waves  ran  high." 

He  was  born  at  Deerfield  in  New  Hampshire,  November  5th, 
1818.  In  early  infancy,  he  lost  his  father,  a  bold  jmyateer, 
who  scoured  the  Spanish  main  under  the  Columbian  (or  some 
other)  flag.  In  1828,  his  mother  removed  to  Lowell,  and 
placed  Benjamin  under  that  faithful  "knight  of  the  birch," 
Joshua  Merrill,  in  what  is  now  the  Edson  School.  Graduat- 
ing at  Waterville  in  1838,  he  made  a  short  fishing  voyage  to 
the  coast  of  Labrador.  Cured  of  his  boyish  passion  for  the 
sea,  he  then  returned  to  Lowell,  studied  law  in  the  ofl&ce  of 
William  Smith,  and  in  September,  1840,  was  admitted  to  the 
Bar.  His  career  as  a  Democratic  politician  began  synchroni- 
ously  with  his  appearance  in  the  Lowell  Police  Court,  and  cul- 
minated in  the  Charleston  Convention,  where,  after  a  persistent 
struggle  of  twenty  years,  he  first  acquired  national  notoriety. 
He  sat  for  one  term  in  either  branch  of  the  State  Legislature, 
and  also  in  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1853.  But  his 
reputation  was  acquired  chiefly  in  the  courts  of  law,  and  in 
the  caucuses  of  the  Democracy. 

Chosen  a  Delegate  to  the  National  Democratic  Convention,  in 
1860,  by  a  Douglas  constituency,  he  set  his  constituents  at  de- 
fiance, and  voted  fifty-seven  times  for  Jeff'erson  Davis.  When 
the  Convention  was  rent  in  twain,  he  attached  himself  to  the 
Southern  wing  of  it,  and  flung  out  the  banner  of  Breckenridge 
and  Lane.  On  July  26th,  1860,  at  a  Democratic  meeting  in 
Huntington  Hall,  he  attempted  to  defend  his  conduct.  No 
sooner  had  he  been  introduced  than  he  was  met  by  a  storm  of 
hisses,  groans  and  yells,  such  as  have  seldom  been  heard  out- 
side of  Pandemonium.  At  every  pause  in  the  tempest,  Butler 
15^> 


174  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

renewed  his  efforts  to  speak  ;  but  every  such  attempt  was  in- 
stantly balked  by  a  renewal  of  the  storm  in  all  its  pristine 
fury.  Three-quarters  of  an  hour  were  thus  passed ;  but  the 
sea  of  angry  faces  remained,  and  the  tornado  of  hisses,  groans 
and  yells,  continued  unabated.  Eealizing  the  impossibility  of 
getting  a  hearing  at  that  time,  and  overcome  by  the  violence 
of  his  own  emotions,  Butler  beat  an  abrupt  retreat  to  the  ante- 
room, leaving  his  enemies  to  enjoy  their  triumph.  Thus  the 
Democrats  snubbed  their  recreant  chief.  Thus  Lowell  disowned 
her  foremost  son. 

Another  meeting  was  afterward  held,  when  Butler  obtained 
a  hearing ;  and  never  did  the  resources  of  his  genius  appear 
more  inexhaustible  than  in  the  able  and  ingenius  but  specious 
and  sophistical  defence  which  he  then  put  in.  A  man  of  such 
immense  vitality  as  Butler  can  never  be  put  down  in  this  coun- 
try without  his  own  consent.  The  same  man  whom  we  have 
here  seen  "corked  up"  in  Huntington  Hall,  and  driven  into 
the  ante-room  in  a  paroxysm  of  grief  and  mortification,  will 
turn  up  again  in  this  chapter,  to  be  honored  with  a  public  re- 
ception after  the  style  of  Jackson,  Kossuth  and  Sheridan. 

On  the  ninth  of  January,  1861,  the  steamer  Star  of  the 
West  crossed  the  bar  of  Charleston  with  supplies  for  the  Fed- 
eral garrison  at  Fort  Sumter.  She  was  fired  upon  by  the  South 
Carolinians,  and  driven  off.  This  was  the  true  beginning  of 
the  war  ;  though  for  three  months  afterward,  the  country  slept 
on  in  the  delusive  belief  that  it  was  still  at  peace.  During 
those  three  months,  the  great  question  was.  How  to  relieve 
the  garrison  of  Fort  Sumter  ?  To  many  minds  the  question 
presented  insoluble  dilficulties.  Lowell,  however,  had  sent 
forth  a  man,  to  whose  hard,  practical  mind  this  question  pre- 
sented no  difficulty  at  all — Gustavus  Vassa  Fox. 

He  was  born  in  Saugus,  June  13th,  1821.  In  December, 
1823,  his  father,  Dr.  Jesse  Fox,  removed  to  Lowell,  and  here 
Gustavus  remained  until  June,  1838,  when,  through  the  influ- 
ence of  Caleb  Cushing,  he  was  appointed  a  Midshipman  in  the 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL  175 

Navy.  Naval  promotions  in  those  days  were  slow,  and  it  was 
not  until  1852  that  Fox  rose  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  of  our  naval  ojfficcrs  who  comprehended 
the  great  changes  that  were  to  follow  the  introduction  of  steam 
into  the  Navy,  and  obtained  "leaves  of  absence"  in  order  to 
gain  experience  in  steam  navigation.  While  "on  leave"  he 
served  as  mate  to  Captain  Cumstock  on  board  the  Baltic.  He 
was  subsequently  Captain,  first  of  the  Ohio,  and  afterward  of 
the  George  Law,  plying  between  New  York  and  Panama.  In 
1855,  he  resigned  his  commission,  and  became  Agent  of  the 
Bay  State  Mills  at  Lawrence. 

Immediately  after  the  return  of  the  Star  of  the  West  to 
New  York,  in  January,  1861,  Captain  Fox  repaired  to  Wash- 
ington, and  submitted  to  General  Scott,  Secretary  Holt  and 
President  Buchanan,  a  plan  of  his  own  for  the  relief  of  Fort 
Sumter.  His  plan  was,  to  anchor  three  small  men-of-war  off 
the  harbor  of  Charleston,  four  miles  from  the  Fort,  as  his  base 
of  operations;  and  then  to  send  three  steam-tugs  and' a  full 
complement  of  armed  launches,  manned  by  three  hundred  extra 
sailors,  to  carry  the  troops  and  stores  to  the  Fort,  running  the 
batteries  on  Sullivan's  and  Morris's  Islands.  Scott  and  Holt 
approved  the  plan ;  but  the  vacillating  counsels  which  prevailed 
at  Washington  during  the  last  three  months  of  Buchanan  and 
the  first  six  weeks  of  Lincoln,  prevented  its  adoption  until  it 
was  too  late.  It  was  not  until  the  sixth  of  April  that  Captain 
Fox  left  New  York  with  a  part  of  the  proposed  expedition, 
the  whole  of  which  might  have  sailed  as  early  as  the  preceed- 
ing  January.  Rough  weather  then  came  on,  and  he  only  ar- 
rived ofi^  Charleston  in  time  to  witness  the  bombardment  of 
Fort  Sumter,  and  to  bring  back  with  him  Major  Anderson  and 
his  command,  after  the  surrender  of  the  Fort  to  General  Beau- 
regard. The  failure  of  this  daring  enterprize  involved  no  loss 
of  confidence  in  Captain  Fox  on  the  part  of  President  Lincoln, 
who  soon  afterward  made  him  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


176  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

The  fall  of  Fort  Sumter  produced  a  tremendous  sensation  in 
Lowell.  The  shock  was  common  to  the  whole  country.  On 
the  fifteenth  of  April,  President  Lincoln  called  upon  GoYernor 
Andrew  for  two  regiments  of  Militia.  On  the  next  day,  he 
enlarged  the  call  to  a  brigade  of  four  regiments,  which  was 
assigned  by  the  G-overnor  to  the  command  of  Brigadier-General 
Butler.  Immediately  on  the  receipt  of  the  first  call,  (x4.pril 
15th,)  Governor  Andrew  ordered  Colonel  Edward  F.  Jones, 
of  the  Sixth  Eegiment,  to  muster  his  command  forthwith  on 
Boston  Common. 

Four  companies  of  this  regiment  bel(tiged  to  Lowell,  viz. : 

Company  C,  (Mechanic  Thalanx,)  Captain  Albert  S.  FoUansbee. 

Company  D,  (City  Guards,)  Captain  James  W.  Hart. 

Company  H,  (Watson  Light  Guard,)  Captain  John  F.  Noj^es. 

Company  A,  (originally  La-urence  Cadets,  subsequently  National  Greys,) 
Captain  Josiah  A.  Sawtell,  who,  on  his  promotion  to  the  Majority,  May  18th, 
was  succeeded  by  Captain  George  M.  Dickerman*. 

On  the  next  morning,  (April  16th,)  these  four  companies, 
with  two  companies  from  Lawrence,  one  from  Groton  and  one 
from  Acton,  of  the  same  regiment,  were  mustered  in  Hunting- 
ton Hall,  where  stimulating  speeches  were  made  to  them,  and 
prayers  offered  to  the  God  of  Battles  for  their  success. 

It  was  a  cold,  stormy  and  most  dismal  day,  when,  amid  the 
prayers  and  cheers  and  tears  of  the  people,  the  cars  bore  the 
Sixth  Regiment  toward  Boston.  In  Faneuil  Hall,  they  were 
joined  by  the  other  three  companies  attached  to  the  Sixth, 
from  Stoneham,  AVorcester  and  Boston. 

After  the  departure  of  the  Eegiment,  the  City  Council  ap- 
propriated eight  thousand  dollars  for  the  benefit  of  the  families 
of  these  and  other  Lowell  soldiers. 

The  progress  of  the  Sixth  through  Worcester  in  the  evening 
of  the  seventeenth,  through  ]N"ew  York  City,  through  the  State 
of  New  Jersey,  and  through  Philadelphia,  on  the  eighteenth, 
was  a  series  of  grand  ovations,  especially  at  Philadelphia. 

*For  the  rosters  of  these  companies,  see  Chaplain  Hanson's  History  of 
the  Old  Sixth  Eegiment. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  177 

On  the  nineteenth,  they  reached  Baltimore,  and  seven  of 
the  eleven  companies  crossed  the  city  to  the  Washington  De- 
pot, unresisted.  The  track  over  which  they  had  passed  in  cars 
drawn  by  horses,  was  then  barricaded  by  the  "roughs"  of  the 
city,  leaving  the  regimental  band  and  four  companies  behind, 
compelled  to  march  on  foot  to  the  Washington  Depot.  The 
companies  were  C,  of  Lowell,  Capt.  Follansbee  ;  D,  of  Lowell, 
Captain  Hart ;  I,  of  Lawrence,  Captain  Pickering ;  and  L,  of 
Stoneham,  Capt.  Dike.  Capt.  Follansbee,  as  senior  Captain, 
commanded  the  detachment,  which  numbered  about  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty  men. 

In  their  progress  through  Baltimore,  these  companies  received 
all  sorts  of  indignities  from  the  mob,  whose  yells,  oaths  and 
execrations  filled  the  air.  In  Pratt  street,  missiles  were  thrown 
and  firearms  discharged  at  the  advancing  column,  and  Capt. 
Follansbee  ordered  his  men  to  ^re  at  will.  These  demonstra- 
tions continued  on  both  sides  till  the  detachment  rejoined  their 
comrades  at  the  Washington  Depot,  and  the  train  started  which 
bore  them  to  the  Capital. 

How  many  of  the  rioters  fell  has  never  been  ascertained. 
Some  place  the  number  at  a  hundred.  The  first  man  wounded 
on  our  side  was  George  A.  AVilson,  of  the  regimental  band. 
Fourteen  others  were  also  wounded  during  this  riot,  and  four 
killed, — Addison  0.  Whitney,  Luther  C.  Ladd,  and  Charles  A. 
Taylor,  all  of  the  Lowell  City  Guards ;  and  Sumner  H.  Need- 
ham,  of  the  Lawrence  Light  Infantry.  Whitney  was  twenty- 
two  years  of  age,  and  a  native  of  Maine ;  Ladd  was  a  boy  of 
seventeen  summers,  a  native  of  New  Hampshire ;  Needham  be- 
longed to  Lawrence,  and  Taylor,  probably,  to  Boston. 

The  news  of  this  affair,  often  magnified  into  a  battle,  pro- 
duced a  profound  sensation  throughout  the  North.  As  the 
first  bloody  scene  in  the  great  tragedy  of  the  Ecbellion,  the 
Baltimore  riot  of  1861  will  not  be  forgotten  as  long  as  any- 
thing in  American  history  is  preserved. 


178  HISTORY    OP    LOWELL. 

The  remains  of  Ladd  and  Whitney  were  "brought  to  Lowell, 
on  the  sixth  of  May,  1861,  and  buried  in  the  Lowell  Cemetery 
with  imposing  ceremonies : — 

"  Such  honors  as  m  Illmm  once  were  paid 
When  peaceful  slept  the  mighty  Hector's  shade." 

Four  years  later,  their  bodies  were  removed  to  Monument 
Square.  There,  beneath  the  Monument  which  bears  their 
names,  they  now  rest;  and  there  they  shall  remain  *' till  a 
clarion  louder  than  that  which  marshaled  them  to  the  combat 
shall  awake  their  slumbers." 

On  reaching  Washington,  the  Sixth  was  welcomed  by  the 
friends  of  the  Union  with  inexpressible  joy.  The  soldiers 
were  quartered  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  and  remained  there 
till  the  fifth  of  May,  when  they  were  removed  to  the  Eelay 
House,  ten  miles  from  Baltim^e.  There  they  formed  a  part 
of  the  command  of  Brigadier-General  Butler,  Department  of 
Annapolis.  They  remained  at  the  Eelay  House,  protecting 
the  Baltimore  and  Washington  Railroad, — with  the  exception 
of  two  short  visits  to  Baltimore, — until  the  close  of  their  term 
of  service.  They  returned  to  Lowell,  August  2nd,  and  were 
honored  with  a  public  reception  on  the  South  Common. 

On  the  day  succeeding  the  affair  at  Baltimore,  two  new 
companies  were  formed  in  Lowell — the  Hill  Cadets,  afterward 
Company  D,  of  the  Sixteenth  Infantry,  Captain  Patrick  S. 
Proctor  ;  and  the  Kichardson  Light  Infantry,  afterward  the 
Seventh  Battery,  Captain  Phineas  A.  Davis.  The  Hill  Cadets 
— the  first  company  organized  in  Lowell  during  the  Eebellion 
— were  principally  men  who  had  belonged  to  the  Jackson  Mus- 
keteers,— who  had  been  deprived  of  their  arms  by  the  Know 
Nothing  Governor  Gardner, — and  who  had  been  calumniated, 
even  as  late  as  the  preceding  January,  as  being  ready  to  take 
part  with  South  Carolina  against  their  own  adopted  Common- 
wealth. It  was  not  until  they  received  the  shock  of  a  bloody 
civil  war,  that  the  native  and  the  foreign  born  began  alike  to 


"  Nothing  is  here  for  grief,  nothing  for  tears,  nothing  to  waU 
And  knock  the  breast,  no  weakness,  no  contempt, 
Dispraise  or  blame,  but  well  and  fair, 
And  what  may  quiet  us  in  a  death  so  noble." 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  179 

feel  that,  in  spite  of  all  their  little  differences,  they  were  all 
Americans  at  heart — loving  their  country  with  a  warm  and 
ec[ual  love,  and  ready  to  peril  all  in  her  defence. 

On  April  22nd,  a  third  company  was  started  by  Edward 
Gardner  Abbott.  Men  rushed  to  his  recruiting  office,  and  in 
three  days  his  company  was  full — his  father,  Judge  Abbott, 
pouring  out  money  with  an  unsparing  hand,  to  supply  every 
real  or  imaginary  want  of  the  men.  This  company  was 
organized  April  25th,  and  took  the  name  of  the  Abbott  Greys. 
It  was  incorporated  with  the  Second  Infantry,  and  on  May 
24th,  Abbott  was  commissioned  as  its  Captain.  Few,  if  any, 
volunteer  officers  were  commissioned  for  three  years'  service 
earlier  than  Captain  Abbott. 

On  May  1st,  Eben  James  and  Thomas  O'Hare  organized  the 
Butler  Eifles,  afterward  Company  G,  of  the  Sixteenth  Infantry. 

While  the  younger  men  of  Lowell  were  filling  the  rosters  of 
these  and  other  companies  for  service  in  the  field,  the  older 
men,  together  with  the  women,  irrespective  of  age,  were  serv- 
ing the  common  cause  by  contributions  of  money,  clothing, 
provisions,  books  and  everything  else  that  could  enhance  the 
comfort  of  the  soldier.  With  the  view  to  systematize  this 
patriotic  and  charitable  ministry,  Judge  Crosby  called  a  pub- 
lic meeting,  April  20th,  when  the  Soldier's  Aid  Association 
was  formed — the  first  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States — germ 
of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  and  germ  of  the  Christian  Com- 
mission. Judge  Crosby  was  its  President ;  M.  C.  Bryant,  Sec- 
retary ;  and  Samuel  W.  Stickney,  Treasurer.  The  ladies  and 
gentlemen  who  participated  in  this  ministry  represented  every 
social  circle  and  every  religious  society  in  Lowell. 

It  has  been  the  standing  reproach  of  Protestant  communities, 
that  they  have  no  such  sisterhoods  as  those  through  whose  be- 
neficent labors  the  Roman  church  is  so  much  endeared  even  to 
the  humblest  of  her  children  ; — no  societies  of  ''the  brides  of 
God,"  who,  for  the  love  of  Mary,  renounce  the  world,  and  con- 
secrate their  lives  to  the  divine  ministry  of  charity.    But  great 


180  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

as  is  tlie  debt  due  to  orders  like  these,  a  ten-fold  .greater  debt 
is  due  to  tbe  thousand  soldier's  aid  societies  that  sprung  up 
all  over  the  North  during  the  late  War,  to  supply  food  for  the 
hungry,  clothing  for  the  naked,  instruction  and  amusement  in 
health,  tender  care  in  sickness,  litanies  for  the  dying,  requiems 
for  the  dead.  And  of  all  these  societies  this  Lowell  associa- 
tion was  the  precursor  and  pioneer. 

In  August,  the  Twenty- Sixth  Kegiment  was  organized  and 
went  into  camp  at  Cambridge,  whence,  three  weeks  later,  it 
was  removed  to  Camp  Chase,  at  Lowell.  Here  it  remained 
till  late  in  November,  when  it  formed  part  of  the  expedition 
to  Ship  Island,  in  the  Department  of  the  Gulf.  In  the  follow- 
ing December,  the  Thirtieth  Eegiment  was  organized  at  Camp 
Chase,  under  General  Butler,  who  accompanied  it  to  Ship  Is- 
land. Three  companies  of  the  Twenty-Sixth,  A,  D,  and  H,  and 
three  of  the  Thirtieth,  B,  C  and  F,  were  composed  of  Lowell 
men.  Nor  were  Lowell  men  confined  to  these  companies  alone, 
but  were  found,  sometimes  in  considerable  numbers,  in  many 
other  organizations. 

On  September  5th,  Gen.  Butler  returned  to  Lowell  after  the 
affair  at  Hatteras  Inlet,  and  the  people  gave  him  a  reception 
which  contrasted  strongly  with  that  of  the  preceding  summer. 
It  was  like  the  passage  from  the  scaffold  to  the  throne.  Be- 
tween these  two  receptions,  the  General  had  revised  his  political 
opinions,  passing  with  characteristic  agility  from  the  extreme 
Southern  to  the  extreme  Northern  side.  The  occupation  of 
Hatteras  Inlet  was  an  event  wholly  insignificant  in  itself.  But 
it  served  to  relieve  the  gloom  which  filled  the  general  mind 
after  the  defeats  of  Big  Bethel  and  Bull  Eun.  He  was  re- 
ceived at  the  Northern  Depot  by  a  committee  of  the  citizens 
and  escorted  by  the  four  companies  of  the  Sixth  Eegiment, 
and  an  independent  company — the  Wamesit  Eifles — together 
with  a  civic  escort,  to  the  Merrimack  House,  where  he  received 
an  address  of  welcome  from  Mayor  Sargeant,  to  which  he  re- 
plied at  some  length.     The  procession  was  then  re-formed,  and 


HISTORY    OP    LOWELL.  181 

escorted  liim  to  his  home  by  the  bowlder-hot tomed  Merri- 
mack. 

Early  in  18G2,  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Batteries  were  organ- 
ized.     Both  were  composed  chiefly  of  Lowell  men. 

On  xipril  ord,  1862,  Surgeon  Ebenezer  K.  Sanborn,  of  the 
Thirty-First  Infantry,  died  of  typhomania  at  Ship  Island. 
Dr.  Sanborn  was  born  in  Hill,  New  Hampshire,  January  24th, 
1828.  His  professional  education  was  acquired  with  his  uncle, 
Dr.  Gilman  Kimball,  at  Lowell,  and  with  Dr.  C.  H.  Stedman 
at  Boston.  He  was  a  most  successful  surgeon,  and  an  indefat- 
igable student  of  his  profession,  in  which  he  stood  among  the 
most  eminent  of  his  age.  He  achieved  great  success  as  a  lec- 
turer, and  filled  professorial  chairs  at  Woodstock,  Castleton, 
and  Pittsfield.  He  left  a  widow,  daughter  of  John  xivery, 
and  three  children. =•■= 

On  July  1st,  18G2,  President  Lincoln  issued  a  new  call  for 
300,000  volunteers.  Among  the  regiments  organized  in  re- 
sponse to  this  call,  was  the  Thirty-Third  Infantry,  of  which 
companies  A,  F  and  Gr,  with  a  portion  of  companies  C  and  H, 
were  from  Lowell. 

The  President  having  on  August  4th,  1862,  issued  a  call  for 
troops  for  nine  months'  service,  the  Sixth  Eegiment  was  among 
the  first  to  respond.  On  September  9th,  it  left  Lowell  for 
Boston,  and  proceeded  to  SuiFolk,  Virginia.  It  remained  in 
the  vicinity  of  Suffolk  during  its  entire  period  of  service,  per- 
forming necessary  and  useful  duty,  but  taking  pari;  in  no  great 
battle — its  only  encounters  with  the  enemy  being  some  insig- 
nificant engagements  on  the  Blackwater.  Other  nine-months' 
regiments  drew  on  Lowell  for  recruits,  especially  the  Forty- 
Eighth,  which  was  stationed  at  Baton  Eouge. 

At  the  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain,  August  9th,  1862,  fell 
Brevet  Major  Edward  G.  Abbott,  Captain  of  Company  A,  of 
the  Second  Infantry,  with  seven  of  his  men.  He  was  born  in 
Lowell,  September  29th,  1840,  and  was  less  than  twenty-one 

*  Memorial  of  Sanborn  by  Samuel  Biirnham;  Communications  of  Mass. 
Medical  Society,  18(53. 

16 


182  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

years  of  age  when,  in  the  feverish  rapture  of  battle,  he  passed 
to  those  "  temples  not  made  with  hands."  Graduating  at  Har- 
vard in  18G0,  he  entered  the  law  office  of  Samuel  A.  Brown, 
where  he  remained  until  the  fall  of  Sumter  signalized  the  con- 
flict, of  which  he  was  not  to  see  the  end.  Passing  at  once 
from  the  profession  of  law  to  the  profession  of  arms,  his  ardor 
and  assiduity  were  only  increased  by  the  change. 

In  everything  he  souglit  thoroughness,  and  would  not  be  content  with 
half-knowing  anything.  Had  he  lived  to  complete  the  superstructure  of 
which  he  had  laid  the  foimdations,  he  was  sure  to  have  attained  the  summits 
of  his  profession.  To  this  he  aspired  with  the  ardent  longing  of  a  strong, 
whole-souled,  generous  nature.    Nor  did  he  dream  of  failure. 

"  In  the  bright  Lexicon  of  youth, 
There's  no  such  word  as  fail." 

He  had  a  sense  of  honor  worthy  of  the  best  days  of  chivalry.  Perfect 
truthfulness  characterized  all  l)is  Avord  and  acts.  "  He  dared  to  do  right;  he 
dared  to  be  true ; "  he  would  not  be  such  a  cowaixl  as  to  lie.  At  the  age  of 
twentj^,  he  had  the  intellectual  maturity  of  a  man  of  thirty.  His  native  vigor 
of  intellect  was  great,  and  his  judgment  remarkably  sound.  He  was  a  born 
commander — cool,  intrepid,  self-reliant,  indomitable — and  took  to  the  lead- 
ership of  atfairs  as  naturally  as  an  eagle  to  the  air. 

The  battle  was  drawing  to  a  close  Avhen  he  fell;  and  during  the  fight, 
says  General  Andrews,  (who  was  his  colonel,)  his  conduct  "  was  as  brave 
and  noble  as  any  friend  of  his  could  desire."  Just  as  the  Union  army  began 
their  retreat,  Abbott  was  shot — the  ball  passing  directly  through  the  neck. 
One  of  his  men,  Lucius  Page,*  seeing  him  fall,  ran  to  him,  and  asked,  "  Are 
you  wounded  ?"  Abbott  with  difficulty  replied,  "  Yes."  Page  inquired,  "  Can 
I  do  anything  for  you?"  But  the  dying  captain  was  unable  to  reply.  The 
blood  gushed  from  his  neck,  and  in  a  few  moments,  he  was  dead.  Page 
brought  away  his  sword,  and  said  he  could  have  lain  down  and  died  beside 
him. 

His  company,  Avhicli  was  his  pride,  was  always  distinguished  for  its  neat, 
soldierly  appearance,  and  was,  says  General  Andrews,  "in  every  respect, 
fully  equal  to  any  that  I  have  seen  in  the  volunteer  service."  General  Gor- 
don says,  "I  saw  him  when  he  fell.  I  was  proud  that  I  had  done  something 
to  educate  him  to  the  profession  he  so  much,  so  peculiarly  adorned." 

The  body  of  the  lamented  captain  was  buried  with  public 
honors  on  Sunday,  August  17th.  The  same  hand  that  sufl"used 
his  infant  face  with  the  waters  of  baptism,  also  committed  his 
body  to  the  ground — "earth  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to 
dust."t 

*  Page  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  at  Chancellorsville,  and  after- 
ward died  of  his  wounds. 

jsee  Lowell  Courier,  August  21st  and  26th,  and  September  11th,  18G2. 
Also,  Harvard  Memorial  Biographies,  vol.  ii,  pp.  77-90. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  183 

Twenty  clays  after  Abliott's  death,  fell  First  Lieutenant 
James  E.  Darracott,  of  Company  E,  of  the  Sixteenth  Kegi- 
ment,  who  was  instantly  killed  at  the  second  battle  of  Bull 
Run.  He  was  thirty-four  years  of  age,  and  left  a  widow, 
daughter  of  Alexander  Wright,  and  one  child. 

On  October  5th,  1862,  Captain  Timothy  A.  Crowley,  of 
Company  A,  Thirtieth  Infantry,  died  at  New  Orleans,  of  inter- 
mittent fever.  He  was  born  in  Lowell,  February  14th,  1831, 
and  after  quitting  school  was  long  employed  as  a  machinist 
in  the  Lowell  Machine  Shop.  For  several  years,  he  was  con- 
nected with  the  city  police,  and  in  1858  was  Deputy  Marshal. 
He  subsequently  studied  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1860.  He  was  one  of  those  over  whom  Oeneral  Butler 
threw  the  magical  spell  of  his  peculiar  genius;  and  no  Scot- 
tish clansman  of  the  medieval  age  ever  followed  his  leader 
with  more  ardor  and  devotedness  than  Crowley. 

"No  oath  biit  by  his  chieftain's  hat, 
No  law  but  Rodei-ick  Dhu's  commaud." 

He  was  a  corporal  in  the  Watson  Light  Guard  in  their 
three  months'  campaign,  and  bore  the  colors  of  the  Sixth  Regi- 
ment during  the  Baltimore  riot  of  1861,  with  a  steady  courage 
that  attracted  the  admiration  of  all.  He  then  gathered  the 
company  of  which  he  was  captain  at  his  death.  He  displayed 
fine  abilities  as  an  officer,  and  won  the  entire  respect  of  all 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact  in  the  Department  of  the  Gulf. 
He  left  a  widow  and  two  children.  His  remains  were  brought 
to  Lowell,  and  buried  with  public  honors,  October  26th,  IS 62. 

On  December  13th,  1862,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  under 
General  Burnside  advanced  on  the  defences  of  Fredericksburg, 
but  only  to  be  driven  back,  after  a  sublime  exhibition  of  its 
courage  and  a  lavish  outpouring  of  its  blood,  to  its  original 
lines.  Among  the  killed  in  this  engagement  was  Captain 
Thomas  Claffey  of  Lowell.  He  was  born  in  Cork,  Ireland,  and 
came  to  Lowell  when  a  boy.  Having  secured  such  elementary 
education  as  a  Lowell  Grammer  School  affords,  he  became  first 


184  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

an  operative  in  tlie  mills,  afterward  clerk  to  a  shopkeeper, 
and  finally  a  shopkeeper  himself.  He  devoted  all  the  time  he 
could  spare  to  the  improvement  of  his  mind.  He  made  ex- 
tensive forays  into  history,  ancient  and  modern,  sacred  and 
secular.  Entering  the  Twentieth  Eegiment  as  a  private,  he 
was  soon  promoted  to  a  Lieutenancy  for  gallant  conduct  at 
Antietam.  • 

At  Fredericksburg,  the  command  of  his  company  devolved 
on  him,  and  here  his  gallantry  won  him  a  commission  as  Bre- 
vet Captain.  This  honor,  however,  was  conferred  too  late. 
Early  in  the  engagement,  he  for  whom  it  was  intended,  fell, 
shot  through  the  mouth  and  neck ;  and  so,  amid  the  cloud  and 
thunder  of  battle,  the  impetuous  spirit  of  Captain  Claffey  took 
the  everlasting  flight.  His  body  was  not  recovered.  He  was 
twenty-eight  years  old,  and  left  a  widovf  and  two  children. 

On  January  12th,  1863,  General  Butler,  returning  from 
New  Orleans,  was  received  by  the  people  in  Huntington  Hall, 
where,  in  an  elaborate  speech,  he  defended  his  administration 
in  the  Department  of  the  Gulf.  He  was  accompanied  by  the 
gallant  General  Strong,  who  was  mortally  wounded,  a  few 
months  later,  in  the  last  desperate  storming  of  Fort  Wagner. 

On  February  17th,  1863,  the  Fifteenth  Battery,  composed 
chiefly  of  Lowell  men,  was  mustered  for  three  years'  ser- 
vice. Timothy  Pearson  was  its  Captain ;  but  he  being  chiefly 
engaged  in  recruiting,  the  actual  command  of  the  Battery  de- 
volved largely  on  Lieutenant  Albert  Kowse. 

On  February  25th,  26th  and  27th,  1863,  the  ladies  of 
Lowell  held  their  famous  Soldiers'  Fair,  to  replenish  the  funds 
of  the  Sanitary  Commission.  About  five  thousand  dollars 
were  realized  by  this  fair,  which  was  the  second  of  the  kind 
during  the  War— St.  Louis,  the  Queen  City  of  the  AVest,  hav- 
ing held  the  first.  Five  thousand  dollars  raised  by  this  fair, 
— three  thousand  dollars  collected  through  the  Soldiers'  Aid 
Association, — four  thousand  dollars  contributed  to  the  Boston 
Sailors'  Fair  of  1864, — numerous  smaller  sums  collected  and 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  185 

distributed  through  other  channels,  and  innumerable  contribu- 
tions of  clothing,  shoes,  etc., — all  combine  to  attest  how  faith- 
fully and  how  efficiently  the  ladies  of  Lowell  served  their 
country  in  her  most  perilous  hour. 

It  happened,  by  a  strange  contrast,  that  just  as  one  portion 
of  our  people  were  exerting  themselves  so  successfully  for  the 
benefit  of  our  soldiers,  others,  (happily  a  much  smaller  num- 
ber) were  perfecting  elaborate  and  ingenious  schemes  for  steal- 
ing the  large  bounties  which  soldiers  then  received  from  City, 
State  and  Nation.  This  infamous  business  was  carried  on, 
not  only  by  civilian-scoundrels,  but  also  by  several  Lowell 
army  officers ;  and  if  some  of  them  were  afterward  punished 
for  their  peculations,  their  punishments  were  not  half  what 
they  deserved.  Death,  by  sentence  of  a  drum-head  court- 
martial,  was  the  just  penalty  which  Napoleon  inflicted  on 
officers  who  swindled  his  soldiers.  But  our  soldiers  were  left 
to  such  redress  as  they  could  obtain  from  courts  of  law.  The 
courts  were  right,  =••'  but  they  were  altogether  too  slow.  Pri- 
vate William  Kiley,  for  example,  recovered  judgment  against 
Timothy  Pearson  for  his  local  bounty  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars ;  but  before  execution  could  issue,  Pearson  had 

"  folded  his  tent  like  the  Arabs, 

And  silently  stolen  away." 

On  April  lith,  1863,  the  Andover  Conference  of  Congrega- 
tional Ministers  met  in  Lowell.  Upon  adjourning,  they  called 
on  G-eneral  Butler  in  a  body,  thanked  him  for  his  recognition 
of  the  Higher  Power,  and  pledged  him  their  votes  and  their 
prayers  !  Imagine  the  Apostles  calling  on  any  Eoman  poli- 
tician to  thank  him  for  recognizing  his  own  Maker  !  Had  we 
a  painter  among  us,. his  easel  could  hardly  be  better  emjDloycd 
than  in  portraying  those  reverend  fathers,  playing  the  game 
of  mutual  admiration  with  one  in  whose  regards  all%ie  gods 
"from  Jove  to  Jesus"  stand  alike  indifferent, — but  who  has 
the  good  sense  to  sec  that  rabbi,  mufti,  priest  and  parson 

*  Sullivan  v.  Fitzgerald,  12  Allen,  482. 
16- 


186  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

are  all  useful  as  a  higher  order  of  constabulary,  or  moral  po- 
lice,— and  who  would  copy  the  Broad  Churchmanship  of  those 
philosophic  Komans  who  "bowed  with  equal  reverence  to  the 
Lybian,  the  Olympian  or  the  Capitoline  Jupiter." 

Among  the  officers  killed  in  General  .Hookers'  advance  on 
Chancellorsville,  April  30th,  1863,  was  Captain  George  Bush, 
of  Company  B,  Thirteenth  Infantry.  He  was  born  in  Middle- 
sex Village,  July  4th,  1834,  and  was  the  son  of  Francis  Bush, 
of  the  well  known  firm  of  Bent  &  Bush,  hatters.  He  entered 
the  regiment  as  Second  Lieutenant.  He  was  engaged  in  nine 
battles,  and  in  six  of  them  he  commanded  his  company.  Two 
of  his  brothers  were  also  in  the  army — Major  Joseph  Bush, 
and  Lieutenant  Francis  Bush.  He  had  a  third  brother,  Ed- 
ward Bush,  who  was  accidentally  drowned  in  Boston,  in  18G7. 

On  the  following  day,  in  the  same  battle,  Captain  Salem  S. 
Marsh,  acting  Colonel  of  the  Twenty-Second  United  States 
Infantry,  and  one  of  the  finest  officers  in  the  regular  army, 
was  shot  through  the  brain.  He  was  born  in  Southbridge  in 
1836,  and  was  the  son  of  Sumner  Marsh,  long  a  citizen  of 
Lowell.  He  graduated  at  West  Point  in  1858.  When  the 
War  began  he  was  stationed  on  the  frontier,  and  with  him  were 
four  other  officers,  his  superiors  in  rank,  natives  of  the  South, 
who  at  once  sent  in  their  resignations,  and  without  waiting  for 
a  reply,  abandoned  their  posts,  and  went  home.  Undismayed 
by  the  difficulties  of  his  position,  the  noble  Marsh,  then  only 
a  Second  Lieutenant,  at  once  assumed  command,  and,  with 
the  aid  of  the  Surgeon  and  the  non-commissioned  stafi",  per- 
formed not  only  his  own  duties,  but  also  the  duties  of  the 
four  officers  who  had  deserted  their  flag.  He  was  buried,  May 
17th,  with  the  honors  due  to  so  gallant  a  career. 

•    "  They  that  were  true  to  their  country  and  God 
Shall  meet  at  the  last  reveille." 

On  June  3rd,  1863,  an  engagement  took  place  at  Clinton, 
Louisiana,  in  which  Brevet  Major  Solon  A.  Perkins,  of  the 
Third  Cavalry,  was  mortally  wounded.      He  lived   but  two 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL  187 

hours.  He  was  born  at  Lancaster,  New  Hampshire,  Decem- 
ber 6th,  1836,  and  was  the  son  of  Apollos  Perkins,  who 
removed  to  Lowell  with  his  family,  in  1840.  Having  fitted 
for  college  in  the  High  School,  young  Perkins  entered  the 
house  of  J".  W.  Paige  &  Co.,  in  Boston,  where  he  remained  five 
years.  From  1853  to  1856,  he  was  attached  to  a  mercantile 
house  in  Beunos  Ayres,  but  ill  health  compelled  his  return 
home.  In  1857,  he  became  connected  with  a  large  mercantile 
firm  in  Valparaiso,  and  remained  there  two  years;  but  in 
1859,  on  account  of  civil  war,  all  foreigners  were  ordered  from 
Chili;  and  Perkins  returned  to  Lowell.  The  knowledo-e  of 
French  and  Spanish  acquired  in  South  America,  was  highly 
useful  to  him  afterward  in  the  Department  of  the  Gulf,  where, 
in  1862,  he  began  his  career  under  General  Butler.  Though 
only  Second  Lieutenant,  the  death  of  his  superior.  Captain 
Durivage,  left  him  early  in  command,  and  he  had  abundant 
opportunities  to  develope  his  powers  in  numerous  encounters 
with  guerrillas. 

"  He  had  six  horses  killed  imder  him  in  as  many  engagements,  and  when 
sent  out  on  reconnoisances,  was  repeatedly  cut  "off  from  his  return  route  by 
a  superior  force,  and  obliged  to  bring  off  his  command  by  strate"-em  On 
one  occasion,  he  ^ode  a  hundred  miles  in  twenty-four  hours,  and  without 
leavmg  his  saddle;  and  for  the  last  sLx  weeks  of  his  life,  he  did  not  sleep  in 
a  tent  at  all,  but  upon  the  ground  under  an  open  sky,  in  the  wind  and  rain."* 

With  fifty-five  men,  he  once  boldly  engaged  four  hundred 
and  fifty  of  the  enemy,  and  routed  them  so  badly  that  the 
leader  of  the  Confederate  force  was  put  under  arrest  by  his 
superior  officer  for  his  failure.  By  exploits  like  these  he  won 
a  brilliant  reputation,  and  was  pointed  out  in  New  Orleans  as 
the  boldest  and  most  successful  cavalry  officer  in  our  army. 
In  that  beautiful  picture-gallery  in  which,  perhaps,  Lowell 
will  one  day  gather  the  portraits  of  her  heroes,  a  high  place 
will  unquestionably  be  assigned  to  our  most  daring  and  dash- 
ing  cavalry  captain— /e  bean  sabre— Solon  A.  Perkins. 

"  We  will  not  deem  his  life  was  brief, 
For  noble  death  is  length  of  days; 
The  sun  that  ripens  Autumn's  leaf 

Has  poured  a  summer's  wealth  of  rays." 

*  Street's  Funeral  Sermon  of  Perkins,  p.  U.  ~  '         ' 


188  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

At  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  July  3rd,  1863,  fell  Captains 
John  Murkland  and  David  W.  Koche.  Captain  Murkland  was 
born  in  Paisley,  Scotland,  August  23rd,  1835,  and  in  early 
boyhood  came  to  Lowell.  When  the  war  began,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  B,  of  the  Fifteenth  Infantry.  He  first  distinguished 
himself  at  the  battle  of  Antietam,  being  then  First  Sergeant. 
For  his  gallantry  there  he  was  at  once  .commissioned  Captain. 
While  in  command  of  his  company  at  Gettysburg,  he  was 
mortally  wounded.  He  was  buried  July  14th,  with  military 
honors.  He  Avas  married,  but  left  no  children.  The  other 
Lowell  captain  killed  at  Gettysburg,  was  David  W.  Roche, 
who  went  out  as  Second  Lieutenant  of  the  Hill  Cadets,  from 
which  company  he  was  subsequently  transferred  to  Company 
A  of  the  same  regiment,  and  promoted  to  a  captaincy.  While 
at  home  on  leave  in  the  preceding  March,  he  was  married. 
The  military  career  of  Captain  Eoche  was  an  honorable  one, 
but  it  afforded  him  no  opportunity  for  the  acquisition  of  a 
specially  brilliant  fame.  His  remains  were  interred  with  pub- 
lic honors,  August  3rd,  1863.  He  was  thirty-three  years  of 
age,  and  a  native  of  Cork,  Ireland. 

On  October  6th,  1863,  in  a  skirmish  with  a  party  of  Quan- 
trell's  guerrillas,  near  Baxter's  Springs,  Kansas,  Judge-Advocate 
Asa  Walton  Farr,  of  the  staff  of  General  Blunt,  and  seventy- 
seven  others,  were  taken  prisoners  and  shot.  He  was  born  in 
1821,  at  Sharon,  Vermont,  (the  native  town  of  Joseph  Smith, 
the  Mormon  prophet.)  For  seven  years,  he  was  a  practicing 
lawyer  in  Lowell,  and  was  District  Attorney  of  Middlesex 
County  in  1851  and  1852.  For  the  last  ten  jears  of  his  life, 
he  practiced  in  W^isconsin.  He  had  also  been  a  member  of  the 
Wisconsin  Legislature.     He  left  a  widow  and  two  children. 

On  July  15th,  1863,  four  hundred  and  nine  names  of  Lowell 
men  were  drawn  from  the  wheel  at  Concord,  under  the  Con- 
scription act,  and  the  call  based  thereon  ; — but  of  these  less 
than  thirty  were  actually  forced  into  the  service.  A  lavish 
outpouring  of  money  for  National,    State,   City  and  private 


i 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  189 

bounties  saved  Lowell  from  any  extensive  "draft"  of  her  con- 
scrip  tible  men. 

At  the  close  of  1863  and  early  in  18G4,  the  Fifty-Ninth 
Infantry  and  the  Second  Heavy  Artillery  were  recruited. 
Both  contained  many  Lowell  men. 

On  April  2nd,  1864,  Lieutenant  Maurice  Roche,  brother  of 
Captain  D.  W.  Eoche,  died  at  Charlestown,  of  disease  con- 
tracted in  an  unattached  compan}'-  of  Heavy  Artillery. 

On  April  14th,  1864,  Lieutenant  Charles  B.  AVilder,  of  the 
Steam  Frigate  Minnesota,  was  killed  near  Smithficld  in  Vir- 
ginia. He  was  shot  in  the  head  by  a  party  of  the  enemy's 
riflemen,  who  attacked  a  boat  expedition,  sent  into  Smithfield 
Creek,  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Wilder,  to  dredge  for 
torpedoes.  He  was  thirty-four  years  of  age,  and  left  a  wife 
and  one  child.  He  was  buried  in  Lowell  with  naval  honors, 
April  24th.  His  personal  and  professional  qualifications  were 
such,  (said  Admiral  Lee,)  as  ''to  command  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  all  who  were  associated  with  him  in  the  service." 

Exactly  three  weeks  after  the  funeral  of  Lieutenant  Wil- 
der, occurred  the  more  imposing  obsequies  of  General  Henry 
Livermore  Abbott.  He  was  born  in  Lowell,  January  21st, 
1842.  He  and  his  brother,  Major  Abbott,  fitted  for  college 
together  in  the  Lowell  High  School,  graduated  together  at 
Harvard  in  18G0,  and  together  entered  on  the  study  of  the 
law.  When  the  war  broke  out,  he  joined  the  Fourth  Bat- 
talion of  Infantry  as  a  private.  On  July  20th,  1861,  he  was 
commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  Twentieth  Infantry, 
and  subsequently  won  successive  promotions  to  First  Lieuten- 
ant, Captain,  Major  and  Brevet  Brigadier-General.  He  took 
part  in  all  the  great  battles  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  pre- 
ceding his  death,  and  displayed  such  splendid  qualities  that 
every  battle  added  to  his  renown. 

It  was  once  observed  by  Napoleon,  that  no  army  could  bear 
the  strain  of  the  loss  of  more  than  one-third  of  its  numbers. 
But,  in  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  December  11th,  1862, 


190  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

the  company  commanded  by  Abbott,  lost  thirty-five  men  out 
of  sixty.  The  same  company  having  been  re-filled,  afterward 
went  into  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  Abbott  still  being  Cap- 
tain, and  though  full  two-thirds  of  its  members  were  killed  or 
wounded,  still  preserved  its  morale. 

A  life  so  terribly  exposed  can  never  last  long.  '\Vliile  in 
command  of  his  regiment,  at  the  battle  of  the  AYilderness, 
May  6th,  1864:,  and  gallantly  leading  his  faithful  veterans  to 
the  charge,  he  was  stricken  down  by  a  bullet  and  carried  to 
the  rear  mortally  wounded.  '•  His  devotion  to  his  men  was 
shown  in  his  last  sufi'ering  moments,  by  a  direction  that  all 
the  money^  he  left  should  be  used  for  the  relief  of  widows  and 
orphans  of  soldiers  of  his  regiment."  Truly,  "the  bravest  are 
the  tenderest."  "Had  he  lived,"  said  General  Hancock,  "he 
would  have  been  one  of  our  most  distinguished  commanders." 

"  His  growth  in  the  last  four  years  of  his  life  was  almost  berond  belief. 
His  career,  short  as  it  was,  was  long  enough  to  show  that  his  early  death 
deprived  his  country  of  one  of  its  most  faithful  and  most  precious  cham- 
pions, his  State  of  one  of  its  most  worthy  sous,  his  companions  in  arms  of 
an  associate  beyond  praise.  Ko  name  holds  such  a  place  as  his  in  the  hearts 
of  the  surviving  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  regiment."  * 

In  the  summer  of  1862,  a  wound  received  in  the  Seven  Days' 
Battles  brought  him  home  "on  sick  leave."  Before  returning 
he  made  his  last  visit  to  Lowell — a  visit  of  which  bevies  of 
Lowell  belles,  including  some  of  the  purest  and  fairest  of  earth 
or  skies,  still  cherish  tender  recollections.  As  the  youthful 
hero  trod  his  native  river-bank  for  the  last  time,  and  heard 
the  plaintive  murmurs  of  the  Merrimack,  which  he  was  never 
to  hear  again, — perhaps  the  words  of  the  poet  were  re-called 
to  his  mind,  foreshadowing  so  sadly  his  own  glorious  but  un- 
timely end : 

"A  thousand  suns  will  stream  on  thee, 
A  thousand  moons  will  quiver, 
But  not  by  thee  my  step  shall  be, 
Forever  and  forever."' 

On  October  30th,  1863,  Lieutenant  George  F.  Critchett  died 
at  Lowell,  of  disease  contracted  in  the  Seventh  Light  Battery. 

*  Palfrey's  Memoir  of  Abbott,  Harvard  Memorial  Biographies,  vol.  ii, 
pp.  01—101. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  191 

He  went  out  as  a  private,  won  promotion  by  merit,  and  had 
been  offered  the  command  of  his  Battery ;  but  failing  health 
brought  him  home  to  die,  in  his  twenty-fifth  year. 

On  May  31st,  ISG-l,  occurred  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor; 
(though  a  field  where  the  number  killed  on  the  Union  side  was 
twenty  times  greater  than  the  number  killed  of  the  enemy, 
might  rather  be  called  a  massacre  than  a  battle.)  There  two 
Lowell  captains  fell — Dudley  C.  Mumford,  of  Company  G-, 
Nineteenth  Infantry,  and  John  Rowe,  of  Company  E,  of  the 
Sixteenth.  The  former  was  killed  instantly  ;  the  latter  was 
mortally  wounded  and  taken  prisoner,  and  died  June  24th, 
IS 04,  in  Libby  Prison.  Both  entered  their  regiments  as  pri- 
vates, and  won  their  shoulder-straps  by  their  valor  alone. 

On  June  7th,  1864,  about  thirty  men  of  the  Second  Infantry, 
who  enlisted  originally  under  the  lamented  Captain  Al^tt, 
returned  to  Lowell,  having  honorably  completed  their  three 
years'  service.  Many  of  their  comrades  re-enlisted,  and  re- 
mained in  the  field  until  July,  18G5.  Returning  in  an  unor- 
ganised manner,  these  war-worn  veterans  received  no  public 
reception  whatever.  This  was  much  to  be  regretted ;  for  no 
men  "covered  themselves  with  glory,"  more  than  these  men 
of  the  gallant  Second.  The  battles  in  which  they  took  part 
were  Jackson,  Front  Royal,  Winchester,  Cedar  Mountain,  An- 
tietam,  Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  Rcseca, 
Kenesaw  Mountain,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Atlanta,  Raleigh,  Ave- 
.  rysborough,  etc.  The  Second  and  the  Thirty-Third  were  the 
only  regiments  containing  any  considerable  number  of  Lowell 
juen,  that  accompanied  the  gallant  Sherman  in  his  grand  march 
from  Atlanta  to  the  sea. 

On  July  21st,  1864,  the  Hill  Cadets  and  the  Butler  Rifles, 
under  Major  Donovan  and  Captain  O'Hare,  were  welcomed 
home  on  returning  from  their  three  year's  service.  In  those 
tragic  years,  the  Sixteenth  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Fair 
Oaks,  Glendale,  Malvern  Hill,  Kettle  Run,  Chantilly,  Freder- 
icksburg,  Chancellorsville,    Gettysburg,    Locust  Grove,   AYil- 


192  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

derness,  Spottsylvania,  North  Anna  Eiver,  Cold  Harbor  and 
Petersburg — a  record  "which  their  children  and  their  children's 
children  may  look  back  upon  with  pride. 

In  July,  1864, — volunteers  for  one  hundred  days'  service 
having  been  called  for  by  the  President, — the  Sixth  Piegiment 
again  responded,  and  was  assigned  guard  duty  at  Port  Dela- 
ware. 

Among  the  victims  of  the  explosion  of  the  Petersburg  mine, 
July  30th,  1864,  was  Asa  E.  Hay  ward,  then  a  private  in  the 
Pifty-Pirst  New  York  Infantry,  but  previously  a  Pirst  Lieu- 
tenant or  Captain  in  the  Massachusetts  Twenty-Pirst.  He 
was  wounded,  captured  and  confined  in  Saulsbury  prison.  He 
succumbed  under  his  sufferings,  and  died  on  being  exchanged. 
He  was  forty  years  old,  and  left  a  widow  (;?iee  Panny  Prench) 
an^three  children. 

On  October  1st,  1864,  Major  Henry  T.  Lawson,  of  the 
Second  Heavy  Artillery,  died  at  Newborn,  North  Carolina, 
of  yellow  fever.  He  had  previously  been  Captain  of  Com- 
pany I,  of  the  Sixteenth  Infantry.  His  remains  were  buried 
at  Newton,  where  his  family  resided.  He  was  the  last  com- 
missioned officer  that  was  identified  with  Lowell,  who  lost 
his  life  while  in  actual  service. 

Is  the  question  asked,  Why  not  mention  those  who  were 
not  of  commissioned  rank  ?  The  only  answer  is,  that  they 
are  altogether  too  numerous,  and  with  respect  to  many  of 
them,  no  information  is  attainable.  In  mental  and  moral 
power,  as  well  as  in  social  rank,  the  privates  were  often  supe- 
rior to  their  officers.  One  Lowell  boy,  a  private  in  the  Porty-  ^ 
Pourth  Infantry,  son  of  Judge  Hopkinson,  had  graduated  at 
Harvard,  studied  law  with  Judge  Gray,  and  contributed  reg- 
ularly to  the  Atla7itic  MonthlyS'-  Another  Lowell  private, 
Poster  Wilson,  has  since  served  with  credit  in  the  City  Coun- 
cil, and  in  the  State  Legislature.     A  third,  Samuel  M.  Bell, 

*  He  died  of  fever  at  Newbern,  Feb.  13,  1863.     Harvard  Memorial  Biog . 
raphies,  vol.  2,  pp.  21-29. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  193 

has  been  chosen  by  his  comrades,  including  officers  as  well  as 
privates,  President  of  the  Army  and  Xavy  Union.  A  fourth, 
P.  H.  Welch,  was  head-salesman  in  a  Broadway  wholesale 
house,  having  a  general  under  him  as  his  clerk. 

So  with  the  Lowell  sailors.  John  F.  Devlin  declined  an 
appointment  as  Ensign,  but  served  with  credit  as  chief  signal- 
quarter-master  on  Admiral  Dahlgren's  staff.  Timothy  Sul- 
livan, too,  refused  the  command  of  a  clipper  schooner,  but 
became  coxswain  to  Captain  Meade,  on  board  the  San  Jacinto, 
and,  when  stranded  on  No-Kame  Key,  gallantly*  stood  'by, 
fighting  desperately  with  the  wreckers,  as  well  as  with  the 
storm.  But  the  roll  of  our  "distinguished  privates"  would 
far  outnumber  that  of  our  commissioned  braves. 

Among  the  civilians  from  Lowell  who  shared  the  fortunes 
of  our  armies  in  the  field,  was  AYilliam  Porter  Bay,  whose 
encyclopaedic  learning  and  affluent  genius  entitle  him  to  a 
high  place  in  the  gallery  of  distinguished  Lowellians.  His 
natural  gifts  were  altogether  remarkable,  and  were  improved 
by  all  the  agencies  that  Harvard  and  Heidelburg  employ  to 
develop  and  discipline  the  minds  of  their  sons.  He  was  one 
of  the  brightest  and  best  of  the  spoiled  children  of  genius.. 
He  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
but  became  involved  in  a  dispute  with  his  Diocesan,  (Bishop 
Upfold,)  who  temporarily  suspended  his  functions.  He  was 
acting  as  one  of  the  army  correspondents  of  the  New  York 
Times,  in  Virginia,  when  his  life  was  cut  short  by  an  attack 
of  small-pox.  His  lyceum  discourse  on  Bouseau,  his  article 
in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  on  Dealings  with  the  Dead,  and  sev- 
eral other  productions  of  his  pen,  attracted  great  attention. 

On  October  28th,  1864,  the  Twenty-Sixth  Infantry,  received 
a  public  welcome  home.  The  battles  in  which  they  were  en- 
gaged were  Winchester,  Cedar  Creek,  and  Fisher's  Hill. 

On  January  2Sth,  1865,  General  Butler,  made  his  famous 
speech  in  Huntington  Hall,  explaining  the  causes  of  his  defeat 
at  Fort  Fisher.  On  the  career  of  this  remarkable  man,  it 
17 


194  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

would  be  useless  to  pronounce  judgment  at  present.  All  iLe 
judgments  of  history  are  subject  to  perpetual  appeal ; — those 
touching  contemporaneous  characters  are  seldom  or  never  final. 
Parton's  estimate  of  Butler  will  not  be  accepted  finally ;  nei- 
ther will  that  of  "  Brick  Pomeroy."  The  former  is  surcharged 
with  unreasoning  panegyric;  the  latter  with  passionate  vitu- 
peration. General  Butler's  reputation  cannot  be  demolished; 
for  it  stands  on  a  solid  foundation — on  his  occupation  of  An- 
napolis and  of  Baltimore,  and  on  his  wholesome  discipline  at 
New  Orleans.  His  coquettish  dalliances  with  the  Secessionists 
in  1860, — his  first  repulse  at  Big  Bethel. — his  later  fizzle  at 
Bermuda  Hundreds, — and  his  grsLudev  Jiasco  at  Port  Pisher, — 
will  be  viewed  with  leniency,  in  consideration  of  his  prompt 
dash  into  Baltimore,  and  of  the  firm  grip  with  which  he  held, 
as  by  the  throat,  the  Xew  Orleans  "roughs."  Said  Cromwell 
to  Lely,  "  Paint  me  as  I  am  ;  if  you  leave  out  the  scars  and 
wrinkles,  I'll  never  give  you  a  shilling."  General  Butler  has 
great  faults ;  but  he  has  many  compensatory  merits.  He  is 
no  Cromwell ;  but  he  can  afford  to  be  painted  as  he  is.  Fully 
equal  to  many  of  "Plutarch's  men,"  he  is  sure  to  live  here- 
after on  the  painters'  burning  canvass,  and  on  the  historian's 
pictured  page.  And  when  the  throng  of  his  calumniators  are 
sleeping  in  unhonored  and  forgotten  graves,  his  statue,  in 
enduring  bronze,  will  rise  in  some  public  square  of  our  city, 
and  be  admired  by  millions  that  are  now  unborn. 

On  April  5th,  1865,  the  citizens  flocked  to  Huntington 
Hall  to  express  their  joy  over  the  fall  of  Eichmond.  Another 
meeting  of  patriotic  jubilation  was  held,  with  more  formal 
preparation,  on  the  10th. 

On  April  15th,  1865,  the  people  of  the  whole  country  were 
shocked  by  the  intelligence  that,  on  the  preceding  night,  the 
Patriot-President,  Abraham  Lincoln,  had  been  shot  by  an 
assassin.  On  the  day  following,  the  grief  of  the  people  found 
appropriate  expression  in  all  the  churches.     On  the  19th,  a 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  195 

eulogy  of  Lincoln  was  delivered  in  Lowell,  by  George  S.  Bout- 
well,  Kepreseutative  in  Congress/'-' 

On  -June  13th,  18G5,  the  Lowell  men  of  the  Thirty-Third 
Infantry,  about  ninety  in  all,  returned  to  Lowell,  their  term 
of  enlistment  having  expired.  The  Thirty-Third  bore  a  gal- 
lant part  in  the  battles  of  Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville, 
Beverly  Ford,  Gettysburg,  Lookout  Valley,  Mission  Kidge, 
Buzzard's  Roost,  Resaca,  Cassville,  Dallas,  Golgotha,  Gulp's 
Farm,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Atlanta,  Averys- 
boro',  Bentonville,  and  Goldsboro.' 

On  the  seventeenth  of  June,  1865,  the  Ladd  and  Whitney 
Monument  was  dedicated  with  appropriate  ceremonies.  The 
lines  inscribed  upon  this  Monument,  from  the  Samson  Agon- 
istes  of  ^[ilton,  were  selected  by  the  lamented  Governor  An- 
drew, who  also  delivered  the  dedicatory  oration.  His  closing 
sentences  expressed,  in  eloquent  terms,  the  glowing  hope  that 
this  shaft  might  stand  for  a  thousand  generations : 

"Henceforth  shall  the  inhabitants  of  Lowell  guard  for  Massachusetts, 
f.)r  patriotism,  and  for  liberty,  this  sacred  trust,  as  they  of  Acton,  of  Lex- 
inj^ton,  of  Concord,  protect  the  votive  stones  Avhich  commemorate  the  men 
of  April,  '75. 

"  Let  it  stand,  as  long  as  the  Merrimack  runs  from  the  mountains  to  the 
sea;  Avliile  this  busy  stream  of  hiiman  life  sweeps  on  by  the  banks  of  the 
river,  bearing  to  eternity  its  freight  of  destiny  and  hope.  It  shall  speak  to 
your  children  .not  of  Death,  but  of  Immortality.  It  shall  stand  hei'e  a  mute, 
expressive  witness  of  the  beauty  and  the  dignity  of  youth  and  manlj-  prime 
consecrated  in  iinseltish  obedience  to  Duty.  It  shall  testify  that  gratitude 
will  remember,  and  praise  will  wait  on,  the  humblest  who,  by  the  intrinsic 
greatness  of  their  souls,  or  the  worth  of  their  oflerings,  have  risen  to  the 
sublime  peerage  of  Virtue." 

The  procession  previous  to  the  dedication,  though  indiffer- 
ently managed,  was  the  most  magnificent  ever  seen  in  Lowell. 
It  presented  an  imposing  array  of  National  and  State  officials ; 
the  Staffs  of  the  Governors  of  Massachusetts  and  Maryland  ; 
officers  and  men  who  had  served  in  the  Army  and  Navy  ; 
members  of  the  Lowell,  Boston,  "Worcester  and  Lawrence 
City  Governments ;   Selectmen  of  towns ;  Encampments  of  the 

*  Speeches  relating  to  the  Rebellion,  pp.  35G-371. 


196  HISTORY    or    LOWELL. 

Knights  Templar ;  Lodges  of  the  Free  Masons,  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows, and  the  American  Protestant  Association ;  bodies  of  In- 
fantry and  Cavalry ;  Bands  of  Music,  Firemen,  Fenians,  and 
miscellaneous  organizations. 

At  the  close  of  the  War,  the  Mayor  prepared  the  following 
abstract  of  the  number  of  men  furnished  from  Lowell  under 
the  several  calls  of  the  President,  together  with  the  amounts 
paid  for  City  Bounties,  and  the  sums  expended  by  the  city  in 
recruiting: 

1861,  April  15th,  call  for  75,000  men  for  three  mouths.  Lowell  furnished 
223  men,  at  a  cost  of  $596.08;  average  cost,  $2.67  3-10. 

1861,  May  3rd,  call  for  50,000  men;  July  1st,  call  for  600,000  men.  Our 
quota  under  these  calls  was  2098  men  for  three  years.  The  number  recruited 
was  2390,  at  a  cost  of  $85,681.78;  average  cost,  $27.48. 

1862,  August  Ith,  call  for  300,000  men,  for  nine  months.  Our  quota  was 
235.  We  enlisted  and  furnished  557  men,  at  a  cost  of  $22,162.25;  average, 
$35.78  8-10. 

1863,  October  17th,  call  for  300,000  men.  February  1 ,  1864,  call  for  500,000 
men.  Our  quota  was  288  men.  We  furnished  211  men,  at  a  cost  of  $902.30; 
average  cost,  $4.27  6-10.  The  report  of  the  Adjutant  General,  January  1, 1864> 
stated  that  we  had  at  that  time  a  surplus  of  179  men. 

1864,  July  18th,  call  for  500,000  men;  our  quota,  627.  We  furnished  (in- 
cluding 196  Navy  recruits),  998  men,  at  a  cost  of  $147,549.11;  average  cost, 
$147.94  1-2. 

1864,  December  19th,  call  for  300,000  men.  No  quota  Avas  ever  assigned 
to  Lowell  under  this  call.  I  was  informed  by  the  Provost  Marshal  tliat  our 
quota  -January  1st,  1865,  was  eight  men  short  of  all  requirements.  We  contin- 
ued our  enlistments  until  the  surrender  of  Richniond.  The  number  enlisted 
subsequent  to  the  call  in  December  was  132  men  at  a  cost  of  $17,039.55;  aver- 
age cost,  $129.08'. 

Of  the  volunteers  for  100  days,  Lowell  furnished  252  men,  at  a  cost  of 
$143.80 — making  the  whole  niuiiber  standing  to  our  credit  4763  men,  and  the 
whole  cost  of  recruiting  and  bounties,  $254,074.87.  In  addition  to  this  v/e 
have  expended  for  uniforms,  equipments,  interest  on  State  aid  paid,  and 
otlier  incidental  expenses  of  the  wai",  exclusive  of  the  Ladd  and  Whitney 
Monument,*  the  sum  of  $39,141,02— making  a  grand  total  of  $293,215.89.  It 
should  be  stated  that  there  were  450  men  fron  our  city  who  enlisted  in  the 
naval  service,  but  in  the  apportionment  which  was  made,  only  196  were  al- 
lowed to  our  credit.  Had  we  received  full  credit  for  these  men,  our  whole 
number  furnished  would  have  been  5022.  f 

The  amounts  of  State  Aid  disbursed  since  the  beginning  of 
the  War  have   been  as  follows :— 1861,  $21,912.30;    1862, 

*This  cost  $4,.500,  of  Avhich  the  State  paid  $2,000. 
t  Peabody's  Second  Inaugural,  pj).  6-7. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL  197 

$87,439.78;    1863,  $102,011.78;   1864,  $90,135.40 ;    1865, 
$54,272.00;   186G,  $35,700.00  ;   1867,  $34,500.10. 

At  the  close  of  July,  1805,  the  Lowell  men  of  the  Fifty- 
Ninth,  a  nine-months'  regiment  of  infantry,  returned,  having 
been  present  in  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania, 
North  Anna  River,  Cold  Harbor,  Petersburg,  Weldon  Eail- 
road.  Poplar  Spring,  Fort  Sedgwick,  and  Fort  Mahone. 

One  regiment  only,  containing  many  Lowell  men,  continued 
in  service  later  than  the  Fifty-Ninth.  This  was  the  Thirtieth, 
which  was  not  mustered  out  until  the  following  year.  The 
battles  in  which  the  Thirtieth  took  part,  were  those  of  Vicks- 
burg.  Baton  Ptouge,  Plain's  Store,  Port  Hudson,  Donaldsonville, 
Winchester,  Cedar  Creek  and  Fisher's  Hill. 

The  Seventh  and  Fifteenth  Batteries  also  remained  in  ser- 
vice some  months  longer.  The  Seventh  was  present  in  the 
engagements  at  Deserted  House,  South  Quay,  Somerton,  Provi- 
dence Church  Road,  Holland's  House,  Mansura,  and  Mobile. 
The  Fifteenth  was  present  only  at  the  seigc  of  Mobile. 

With  the  mustering  out  of  these  men  Lowell's  part  in  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  may  be  said  to  have  closed.  The  last 
battle  had  been  fought,  the  last  army  of  the  South  disbanded. 
With  a  few  exceptions,  the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  Lowell  had 
returned  to  their  homes,  or  to  civil  life  elsewhere,  or  had  lain 
down  to  the  long  sleep — the  slumber  that  knows  no  waking. 

Well,  then,  might  Governor  Bullock  tender  to  the  people  of 
Lowell  his  generous  tribute  of  eloq[uent  congratulation  : 

"  While  the  indu-itry  and  wealili  of  oilier  conini unities  have  been  .stimu- 
lated by  the  war,  your.s,  I  apprehend,  haA^e  ])een  checked  and  depressed. 
Tliis,  ho^yevcr,  did  not  chill  the  ardor  of  your  patriotism,  which  rose  above 
every  fhougiit  of  private  interest,  and  l)roke  forth  in  f?reat  acts  of  generous 
and  chivalrous  devotion.  Since  the  men  of  Chelmsford  fought  at  Concord, 
"Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill,  no  record  has  borne  prouder  honors  than  those 
wlu^h  cluster  around  the  brow  of  the  living,  and  over  the  graves  of  the  dead 
soldiers  of  the  Queen  City  of  the  Merrimack.  In  her  honored  son,  Major- 
General  Butler,  she  gave  to  the  field  one  of  the  earliest  and  ablest  general 
olU-'ers  of  the  war,  whose  pen  and  sword  have  been  alike  devoted  to  the 
success  of  iiopular  ideas  throughout  the  contest,  and  who  still  serves  his 
eountry  with  his  etlbrts  to  crown  victory  with  universal  liberty.    Lowell  fur- 

170 


198  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

nished  at  the  first  tap  of  the  dnim  four  companies,  to  the  immortal  Sixth, 
to  protect  the  capital  in  the  hour  of  gloom  aud  almost  of  capture;  she  has 
filled  every  one  of  her  quotas  without  a  draft;  she  has  left  a  surplus  account 
of  gallant  men  at  the  office  of  the  Adjutant  General  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end;  and  she  will  ever  appear,  before  the  whole  world,  with  the  monu- 
mental renown  of  having  contributed  the  first  blood  of  the  fifth  epic  of 
martyrs.  Yes,  the  monument  in  yonder  square  shall  transmit  to  distant 
generations  your  imperishable  distinction  as  the  patriot  and  martyr  city! 
Garlands  of  mingled  laurel  and  cypress,  that  shall  neither  fade  nor  decay, 
will  surround  the  crest  of  your  municipality  so  long  as  the  noble  river, 
in  whose  waters  the  infancy  of  this  city  was  bathed,  shall  flow  by  and  lave 
the  seats  of  her  industry  and  power !  Hail  therefore  to-(lay,  and  welcome 
Lowell  1  that  having  no  ancient  annals  or  lengthened  traditions,  has  passed 
into  the  classic  sisterhood  of  chivalry,  without  a  superior  and  with  scarcely 
Si  rival ! " 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

GENERAL    HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.       1860 1868. 

Anna  A.  Dowei* — Bryant  Moore — Prince  Jej'ome — Nathan  Appleton — Josiah 
G.  Abbott — John  Nesmith — Changes  in  Population — John  P.  Robinson — 
Shakespearean  Festival — Elisha  Huntington — Samuel  A.  Brown — Statue 
of  Victory— Third  Mechanics'  Exhibition— General  Sheridan— Manufac- 
turers' Convention. 

January  4th,  1860,  was  observed  as  a  National  Fast  Day, 
by  appointment  of  President  Buchanan. 

On  January  10th,  the  Pemberton  Mill  at  Lawrence  fell, 
instantly  killing  or  fatally  injuring  eighty-seven  operatives, 
and  wounding  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  others.  All  the 
Lowell  surgeons  hastened  at  once  to  the  assistance  of  the  suf- 
fering victims. 

On  January  12th,  Joseph  Butterfield,  for  nearly  fifty  years 
a  Deputy  Sheriff,  passed  away,  in  his  seventy-sixth  year.  He 
was  born  in  Tyngsboro',  and  removed  to  Lowell  about  1838. 
A  man  of  the  highest  integrity  and  of  great  originality. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  199 

On  March  30tli,  Mrs.  Ehoda  M.  Wilkins  died  suddenly  by 
poison.  Suspicions  were  at  once  fastened  on  Anna  A.  Dower, 
wlio  had  been  her  attendant.  She  was  arrested  on  an  indict- 
ment for  murder,  was  defended  by  Alpheus  E.  Brown  and 
Edwin  A.  Alger,  and  after  three  trials  was  discharged. 

On  June  19th,  Bryant  Moore  shot  his  third  wife,  Eliza- 
beth A.  Moore,  through  the  head,  at  his  house,  No.  61  East 
Merrimack  street.  In  the  following  December,  Moore  was 
brought  to  trial  at  East  Cambridge,  and  was  convicted  of  mur- 
der in  the  second  degree.  He  was  defended  by  J.  Gr.  Abbott, 
R.  B.  Gaverly,  and  Charles  Cowley  who  subsequently  obtained 
a  pardon  for  him  from  Governor  Andrew. 

On  January  30th,  1861,  a  branch  of  the  Carpenters'  and 
Joiners'  Union  was  established  in  Lowell.  The  Machinists  and 
Blacksmiths  were  organized  about  two  years  earlier.  Branches 
of  the  Painters',  the  Moulders',  and  the  Coach  Makers'  Unions 
have  since  been  formed,  but  the  two  former  collapsed.  These 
societies  are  all  founded  on  the  same  basis,  pursue  the  same  ob- 
jects, and  encounter  the  same  opposition,  as  the  Trades  Unions 
of  Great  Britain. 

On  July  1-lth,  1861,  died  Nathan  Appleton — the  last  of 
the  little  band  of  enterprising  men  that  founded  Lowell. 
Though  he  went  to  Boston  a  poor  boy,  and  rose  to  the  highest 
affluence  by  his  enterprize  in  manufactures  and  commerce,  his 
life  was  by  no  means  devoted  to  mere  money-making.  Elected 
repeatedly  to  the  National  and  State  Legislatures,  he  won 
eminent  distinction  as  a  statesman.  His  speeches  on  the  Tariff 
were  magazines  of  facts  and  arguments.  He  was  an  active 
member  of  several  learned  societies,  and  wrote  with  great  vigor 
and  ability  on  the  Banking  System,  the  Currency,  Geology, 
Labor,  Financial  Panics,  Slavery,  the  Union,  Original  Sin,  the 
Trinity,  etc.  In  a  word,  he  stood  among  the  foremost  men  of 
his  times ;  and  his  death  created  a  vacancy  in  manufacturing 
and  commercial  circles,  which  no  living  man  could  fill.-'= 

*  Robei't  C.  Winthrop's  Memoir  of  Appleton. 


200  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

Only  one  member  of  his  family  ever  resided  in  Lowell — 
Ebenezer  Appleton,  Treasurer  of  the  corporation  which  bears 
his  family  name,  who  died  here  in  1834,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
eight, — leaving  a  reputation  for  ability  and  integrity  not  infe- 
rior to  that  of  Nathan. 

On  September  24th,  Prince  Jerome  Napoleon,  with  his  con- 
sort, the  Princess  Clotilde,  daughter  of  Victor  Emanuel,  King 
of  Italy,  visited  Lowell,  having,  doubtless,  been  recommended 
to  do  so  by  his  friend,  Michel  Chevalier.  More  than  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  had  elapsed  since  Chevalier's  visit ;  the  New 
England  girls  on  whom  he  then  gazed  so  admiringly,  had 
passed  away ;  and  their  places  were  now  filled  by  a  motley 
crowd  of  Americans,  English,  Scotch,  Irish,  Dutch  and  French 
Canadians,  who  were  hardly  likely  to  arouse  that  exquisite 
poetic  sentiment  Avhich  Chevalier  felt  for  the  factory-girls  of 
1884. 

Two  days  after  the  Prince's  visit,  another  National  Fast  Day 
was  observed,  by  appointment  of  President  Lincoln.  National 
troubles  were  now  thickening. 

In  1861,  the  Mechanics'  Savings  Bank  was  incorporated — 
the  last  that  has  been  started  in  Lowell. 

In  18G1,  Lowell  lost  one  of  her  ablest  lawyers,  and  one  of 
her  most  public-spirited  citizens,  by  the  removal  of  Josiah  G. 
Abbott  to  Boston.  He  was  born  in  Chelmsford,  November  1st, 
1815,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  in  1832.  After  teaching  for 
some  months  the  Fitchburg  Academy,  he  began  the  study  of 
law  in  the  office  of  Nathaniel  Wright.  In  November,  1836,  a 
few  days  after  the  completion  of  his  twenty-first  year,  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  in  the  follow- 
in?"  January,  was  admitted  to  the  Bar.  He  formed  a  copart- 
nership with  Amos  Spaulding,  and  the  net  earnings  of  the 
firm  during  the  first  year  were  five  thousand  dollars.  He  sat 
in  the  State  Senate  in  1842  and  1843,  and  in  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  1853.  In  1855  he  was  appointed  one  of 
the  Justices  of  the  Superior  Court  for  Suffolk  County.     Three 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  201 

years  afterward,  he  resigned  the  Bench,  and  resumed  his  place 
in  the  front  rank  of  the  Bar.  During  the  last  fifteen  years 
of  his  practice  here,  when  he  was  associated  with  Samuel  A. 
Brown,  he  probably  tried  more  civil  cases  than  any  other  law- 
yer in  New  England.  His  criminal  practice  was  also  large, 
though  less  extensive  than  that  of  B.  F.  Butler,  who  was  so 
often  his  antagonist  in  the  forum.  Three  sons  of  Judge  Ab- 
bott won  honorable  distinction  during  the  Eebellion,  and  two 
of  them  head  the  list  of  the  noble  army  of  Lowell's  patriot- 
martyrs. 

At  the  State  election  in  1861,  John  Nesmith  was  elected 
Lieutenant  Governor  by  the  Eepublicans  —  an  appropriate 
though  tardy  acknowledgment  of  many  years  adherence,  and 
of  many  important  services,  to  the  principles  on  which  the 
Kepublican  party  came  into  power.  Mr.  Nesmith  was  born 
in  Londonderry,  oSTew  Hampshire,  August  3rd,  1793,  and 
removed  to  Lowell  in  January,  1832.  He  has  been  actively 
and  conspicuously  identified  with  the  manufacturing  interests 
of  Lowell  for  more  than  a  third  of  a  centur}'',  and  has  contrib- 
uted his  full  share  to  the  development  of  the  mechanic  arts. 
A  machine  for  the  manufacture  of  wire  fence,  and  another  for 
the  manufacture  of  shawl-fringe,  have  attested  his  inventive 
skill.  The  project  for  increasing  the  power  of  the  Merrimack 
by  creating  great  reservoirs  near  its  sources,  was  originated 
by  him.  The  utilisation  of  the  water-falls  below  Lowell, — 
in  a  word,  the  city  of  Lawrence, — was  also  first  projected  by 
him.  Lawrence,  indeed,  existed  in  the  brain  of  Mr,  Nesmith 
more  than  ten  years  before  she  existed  as  a  fact.  Preparations 
for  building  mills  where  Lawrence  now  stands,  were  begun  by 
him,  in  conjunction  with  Josiah  Gr.  Abbott  and  Daniel  Saun- 
ders, as  early  as  1835,  and  were  only  postponed  by  the  financial 
revulsion  which  then  ensued.  These  preparations  were  finally 
carried  out  in  a  manner  highly  honorable  to  the  projectors. 
Instead  of  buying  up  the  lands  of  the  farmers  by  stealth,  (as 
was  done  at  the  origin  of  Lowell,)   they  frankly  explained  to 


202  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

the  land  owners  that  they  designed  to  build  a  city,  and  proposed 
to  pay  them  for  their  lands  twenty-five  per  cent,  more  than 
they  were  actually  worth.  In  1863,  Mr.  Nesmith,  resigned 
the  Lieutenant-Governorship  to  accept  the  office  of  Collector  of 
Internal  Revenue  for  the  Lowell  District.  In  1866,  he  pub- 
lished "Thoughts  on  the  Currency,  by  an  old  Merchant,"  a 
pamphlet  full  of  practical  suggestions. 

On  October  14th,  1862,  the  steam  boiler  in  the  State  Alms 
House  at  Tewksbury  exploded,  killing  ten  and  wounding  fif- 
teen of  the  inmates. 

On  November  6th,  died  Ithamar  W.  Beard,  in  his  forty- 
ninth  year.  He  was  a  native  of  Littleton  in  this  county,  had 
practiced  law  in  Lowell  from  1842  to  1856,  and  had  been 
Assistant  Treasurer  at  Boston  during  the  Administration  of 
Franklin  Pierce.     In  politics,  he  was  always  a  Democrat. 

On  April  2nd,  1863,  died  Stephen  Mansur,  in  his  sixty- 
fourth  year.  He  had  been  identified  with  Lowell  for  more 
than  forty  years,  and  had  been  a  prominent  trader  from  1830 
till  the  time  of  his  death.  He  had  filled  various  local  offices, 
municipal  and  ecclesiastical,  and  what  is  much  more,  had 
always  maintained  a  high  character  for  honor  and  integrity. 

On  July  19th,  died  Rev.  David  0.  Allen,  D.  D.,  at  the  age 
of  sixty- three.  From  1827  to  1853,  he  labored  as  a  mission- 
ary in  India.  Compelled  by  failing  health  to  return  to  the 
United  States,  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Lojyell,  and  here  wrote 
his  "India,  Ancient  and  Modern,"  a  work  containing  more 
information  on  that  country,  than  any  single  work  yet  pub- 
lished. 

In  1863,  the  Lowell  Horse  Railroad  Company  was  incorpo- 
rated with  $100,000  capital.  Their  road  was  opened  March 
1st,  1864.  Four  miles  of  road  have  been  completed,  costing, 
with  equipments,  $68,000. 

The  year  1863,  was  marked  by  an  excess  of  deaths  over 
births  in  Lowell.  Dr.  Nathan  Allen,  then  City  Physician, 
called  public  attention  to  the  fact  that,  whereas,  prior  to  1863, 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  203 

tlie  number  of  births  had  exceeded  the  number  of  deaths,  in 
18G3,  there  were  G95  deaths  to  054  births — showing  a  loss  of 
fortj-one. 

"Orthe()ol  births,  he  says,  127  were  of  foreign  origin,  leaving  only  227 
American;  of  tiie  ()9r>  deaths  ;]22  were  buried  in  the  llonian  Catholic  grounds, 
with  about  40  more  foreigners  who  were  Protestants  and  buried  in  otlier 
places,  making  ;}u2  deaths  of  foreign  origin.  We  then  have  33J  deaths  to  227 
births — a  loss  of  over  109,  in  18'J3,  of  the  strictly  American  population.  In 
1862  of  (he  757  births,  510  were  foreign,  and  only  212  American;  if  one-half 
the  041  deaths  were  American,  (320),  there  is  then  a  loss  of  82  in  18  ;2.  The 
number  of  deaths  in  Lowell  from  1853  to  1832  was  5,055,  and  the  number  of 
birtiis  for  the  same  time  (),';1S.  It  is  found  by  actual  count  that  for  several 
years,  on  an  average,  the  deaths  in  Lowell  are  about  equally  divided  between 
the  foreign  and  the  American,  and  the  reports  show  that  only  one-third  of  the 
births  belong  to  the  latter  class.  By  applying  this  rule,  there  is  a  loss  from 
1853  to  1832  of  308  persons  by  excess  of  deaths  over  births  among  the  strictly 
American  portion  of  our  population.  And  there  are  good  reasons  to  believe 
that  this  depopulating  process  will  increase  more  rapidly  hereafter  than  it 
has  in  i)ast  years." 

AVhile  some  have  thus  obstinately  refused  to  propagate  their 
species,  others  have  exhibited  a  marvellous  fecundity.  Thomas 
Ducey  has  won  distinction  as  the  father  of  thirty-seven  child- 
ren, being  twelve  more  than  have  been  born  to  any  other 
Lowell  man.  Elsewhere  such  services  would  be  appreciated, 
Ducey  would  be  sent  to  Congress  or  the  General  Court,  or  made 
Mayor.  Here,  he  is  without  honor.  He  has  not  even  been 
made  a  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

On  January  8th,  1864,  Dr.  John  C.  Dal  ton,  who  had  been 
for  more  than  thirty  years  a  practicing  physician  in  Lowell, 
died  in  Boston  in  his  sixty-ninth  year.  He  was  a  gentleman 
of  high  culture  and  possessed  many  elegant  accomplishments.'-* 

On  the  twenty-third  of  April,  18G4-,  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  Horatio  G.  F.  Corliss,  John  F.  McEvoy,  William 
F.  Salmon,  John  A.  Goodwin  and  other  admirers  of  Shakes- 
peare, the  ter-centennial  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  that  im- 
mortal bard  was  celebrated  in  Lowell  with  observances  that 
were  admirably  appropriate.  Huntington  Hall  was  splendidly 
decorated,  and  crowded,  in  the  afternoon,  to  its  utmost  capa- 
city.    An  opening  address  by  Dr.  Huntington,  an  oration  by 

*  Green's  Memoir  of  Daltou. 


204  HISTOKY    OF    LOWELL. 

Eev.  William  S.  Bartlett  of  Chelsea,  choice  readiDgs  from  the 
great  master  bj  ]iJiss  Helen  Eastman,  and  singing  by  the 
pupils  in  the  public  schools,  formed  the  principal  features  of 
the  celebration.  =•■•=  A  Shakespearean  dinner  was  eaten  in  the 
evening,  followed  by  toasts,  sentiments,  songs,  speeches,  etc., 
in  great  abundance  and  variety.  A  Shakespeare  Club  was 
also  formed,  with  a  view  to  celebrating  this  anniversary  as 
often  as  it  returns. 

On  October  20th,  ISG-i,  died  John  P.  Eobinson,  in  his  sixtj*- 
fifth  year.  He  was  born  at  Dover,  in  Xew  Hampshire,  was 
educated  at  Phillips  Academy  and  Harvard  University,  studied 
law  in  the  office  of  Daniel  Webster,  and  commenced  practice 
here  in  1827.  He  soon  rose  to  local  eminence,  and  was 
counsel  in  some  of  the  most  important  cases  ever  tried  in  this 
county.  With  him  was  associated  Horatio  G.  P.  Corliss,  first 
as  a  student,  and  afterward  as  a  partner.  Piobinson  served 
one  year  in  the  State  Senate,  and  five  in  the  House  of  Eepre- 
sentatives,  and  was  one  of  the  Committee  on  the  Eevised  Stat- 
utes of  1836.  He  ran  on  the  Whif;  ticket  for  Cono-ress  in 
1842,  but  was  defeated.  The  lovers  of  "sublime  mediocri- 
ties," the  blockheads  who  turned  their  backs  on  Caleb  Cushing, 
could  not  be  expected  to  bear  true  faith  to  Eobinson  ; — they 
could  be  satisfied  with  nothing  but  "  Deacon  Abbott."  Him 
thev  finallv  elected,  leavins;  Eobinson  to  smart  under  that  keen 
sense  of  wrong  which  he  could  not  but  feel  when  he  contem- 
plated the  unequal  distribution  of  offices  and  opportunities. 
His  opposition  to  Governor  Briggs — one  of  the  last  events  in 
his  political  career — suggested  Lowell's  song  with  the  happy 
refrain, — 

"Jolm  p. 
Eobinson,  he 
Says  he  won't  vote  for  Governor  B." 

Eobinson  was  an  able  and  accomplished  lawyer,  an  eloquent 
and  powerful  orator,  and  a  thorough  classical  scholar.  Among 
the  happiest  days  in  his  life,  were  those  which  he  spent  in 

*  See  Lowell  Shakespeare  Memorial. 


HISTORY  OF    LOWELL.  205 

visiting  Constantinople,  Athens,  Thebes,  the  plain  of  Troy,  the 
field  of  Marathon,  the  pass  of  Thermopjlse,  and  other  places 
of  ancient  renown. 

Eobinson  was  buried  in  the  Lowell  Cemetery.  The  mellow 
shades  of  evening  were  falling  softly  on  an  autumnal  Sunday, 
when  the  remains  of  the  scholar,  the  statesman,  the  orator, 
were  laid  away  to  rest  "  till  the  heavens  be  no  more."  The 
service  was  the  burial  office  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  begin- 
ning with  that  lofty  and  sublime  psalm — ''the  Funeral  Hymn 
of  the  World" — in  which  the  span-long  life  of  man  is  con- 
trasted so  beautifully  with  the  eternity  of  God.  A  feeling  of 
subdued  melancholy  pervaded  all  present,  such  as  that  which 
Gray  expresses  in  the  immortal  elegy  which  Eobinson's  friend, 
AVebster,  had  read  to  him  when  dying : 

"The  curlew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting  day; 
The  lowing  herd  winds  slowly  o'er  the  lea ; 
The  ploughman  homewaid  plods  his  wearj^  way, 
And  leaves  the  world  to  darkness  and  to  me." 

In  1864,  the  First  National  Bank  was  incorporated,  with 
$250,000  capital. 

On  January  7th,  18G5,  died  Isaac  0.  Barnes,  Pension  Agent 
at  Boston.  He  was  formerly  a  practicing  lawyer  in  Lowell, 
and  was  noted  as  the  most  consummate  wag  that  ever  appeared 
at  the  Middlesex  Bar.  His  whole  life  was  a  succession  of 
jokes,  not  ending  till  his  hands  and  feet  had  become  cold  with 
the  torpor  of  death.      He  was  sixty-seven  years  of  age. 

On  July  25th,  1865,  the  Lowell  Exchange  was  organized. 
But  it  proved  a  failure. 

Two  days  later,  the  Erina  Temperance  Institute  was  formed, 
and  proved  a  success.  No  agency  has  yet  been  introduced 
here,  which  has  contributed  so  much  to  disseminate  sound 
views,  and  to  promote  correct  habits,  touching  the  use  of 
intoxicating  beverages,  as  this  Institute.  It  operates,  too, 
where  such  an  agency  is  most  needed — among  the  Irish,  and 
those  of  Irish  extraction. 

18 


206  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

On  December  11th,  1865,  died  Elisha  Huntington,  who  had 
been  identified  with  Lowell  for  more  than  forty  years.  He 
was  born  in  Topsfield,  April  9th,  1796,  was  educated  at  Dart- 
mouth and  at  Yale,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine 
here  in  1824.  As  a  medical  practitioner,  he  realized  a  fair 
share  of  success  ;  but  he  did  not  confine  himself  to  his  profes- 
sion. He  was,  from  the  start,  an  active  politician,  and  repeat- 
edly filled  all  the  little  offices  of  Mayor,  Alderman,  Common 
Councilman,  School  Committeeman,  etc.  He  was  a  candidate 
for  both  branches  of  the  State  Legislature,  but  was  defeated  ; 
but  in  1853,  he  was  Lieutenant  Grovernor.  He  was  distin- 
guished for  kindness  of  heart,  genial  manners,  fine  literary 
tastes,  and  for  natural  gifts  and  mental  attainments  of  a  high 
order.  He  was  sometimes  thought  too  lavish  in  the  expendi- 
ture of  public  funds  ;  but  his  lavish ness  was  economy  itself, 
compared  with  the  extravagance  of  some  later  administrations. 
If  he  had  any  fault  at  all  as  a  public  man,  it  was  a  want  of 
continuity  or  consistency  in  his  party  relations.  Thus  he  was 
run  as  a  candidate,  sometimes  by  the  Whigs,  sometimes  by  the 
Democrats,  sometimes  by  the  Kepublicans,  sometimes  by  the 
Citizens ;  and  he  never  allowed  either  personal  or  party  obli- 
gations to  stand  between  him  and  an  office.  His  political 
latitudinarianism  was  largely  atoned  for  by  his  many  personal 
excellencies ;  but  it  contributed  not  a  little  to  debauch  poli- 
tics, to  lower  the  standards  of  public  virtue,  and  to  introduce 
that  reign  of  low,  vulgar,  mean-spirited  creatures,  under  which 
Lowell  has  suffered  for  many  years.  Aside  from  this  greedi- 
ness of  office.  Dr.  Huntington  was,  in  all  his  public  relations, 
a  model  of  a  man,  broad  in  his  views,  liberal  in  his  sentiments, 
and  not  unfamiliar  with  the  higher  politics. 

The  revival  of  the  cotton  manufacture  after  the  close  of 
the  War,  attracted  to  Lowell  hundreds  of  French  Canadians. 
Though  speaking  another  language,  these  new-comers  soon 
caught  the  spirit  of  progress  which  characterizes  other  classes, 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  207 

and  one  of  the  first  fruits  of  their  immigration  was  a  library 
society,  called  the  Astociation  Franco- Canadienne  de  Lowell. 

About  the  same  time,  measures  were  adopted  for  importing 
operatives  for  our  factories,  from  Continental  Europe.  No 
considerable  number,  however,  has  ever  been  imported,  except 
from  Great  Britain.  The  prospect  of  having  to  receive  from 
five  to  ten  thousand  Dutchmen,  some  fine  morning,  was  by  no 
means  a  pleasant  subject  for  contemplation. 

On  March  22nd,  1866,  the  Sheridan  Circle  of  the  Fenian 
Brotherhood  was  organized.  This  society  still  lives,  though 
the  Lowell  Circle,  formed  at  an  earlier  day,  has  collapsed. 

On  March  23rd,  St.  Peter's  School  was  established.  It  is 
under  the  direction  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  is  connected 
with  St,  Peter's  Church.  An  orphan  asylum  has  since  been 
established  in  connection  with  this  school. 

June  1st  was  observed  as  a  National  Fast-Day,  on  account 
of  the  death  of  President  Lincoln. 

On  June  8th,  a  delegation  from  the  Boards  of  Trade  of  Chi- 
cago and  other  western  cities  visited  Lowell.  Young  as  Lowell 
is,  in  comparison  with  some  of  the  cities  from  which  these 
delegates  came,  she  is  old,  if  not  effete. 

On  August  6th,  the  Music  Hall  was  opened  for  theatrical 
performances,  and  the  drama,  after  an  interlude  of  ten  years, 
recovered  a- permanent  habitation  in  Lowell. 

On  October  10th,  the  Centennial  of  American  Methodism 
was  observed  by  a  gathering  of  all  the  churches  of  that  per- 
suasion in  Lowell  at  St.  Paul's,  and  a  generous  contribution 
of  funds  to  various  denominational  purposes. 

On  January  27th,  1867,  died  Samuel  Appleton  Brown,  one 
of  the  most  successful  lawyers,  and  one  of  the  most  original 
characters  that  ever  flourished  at  the  Middlesex  Bar.  He  was 
born  at  Ipswich,  November  4th,  1810,  and  passed  his  boyhood 
in  the  same  scenes  with  Eufus  Choate,  Judge  Lord  and  N.  J. 
Lord.  He  studied  law  with  Nathan  D.  Appleton  at  Alfred, 
Maine,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1 840.     Shortly  after- 


208  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

ward,  lie  formed  a  copartnership  with  J.  Gr.  Abbott,  and  shared 
his  extensive  and  lucrative  practice  for  fifteen  years. 

Mr.  Brown's  ideal  of  a  lawyer  was  a  lofty  one.  Of  the 
profession  of  the  law,  he  thought,  as  did  Bolinghroke,  that  it 
is,  **  in  its  nature,  the  noblest  and  most  beneficial  to  mankind." 
He  had  none  of  those  mean  traits,  none  of  the  little  arts  of 
chicane,  which  often  make  the  profession,  (as  the  same  writer 
declared),  "  in  its  abuse  and  debasement,  the  most  sordid  and 
most  pernicious."  His  pure  and  elevated  character,  his  spot- 
less integrity,  his  scrupulous  regard  for  truth  and  right,  his 
ample  learning,  his  untiring  industry,  his  uniform  courtesy 
and  kindness,  won  him  the  highest  honor  and  respect.  He 
was  especially  beloved  by  the  younger  members  of  the  Bar, 
who  resorted  to  him  and  revered  him  as  an  infallible  oracle  of 
the  law.  His  extreme  caution  and  care  touching  all  interests 
confided  to  him,  combined  with  other  qualities  to  mark  him 
as  one  cast  intellectually  in  an  entirely  original  mould. 

He  served  two  years  in  the  State  Senate,  where,  if  he  made 
no  brilliant  record  for  himself,  he  made  the  fortunes  of  half  a 
dozen  other  Senators  who  had  the  tact  to  utilize  for  themselves 
the  elements  of  power  which  they  found  in  him.  But  he  took 
little  pleasure  in  politics,  having  no  affinity  with  such  men  as 
he  too  commonly  found  in  public  life.  His  own  profession 
was  his  favorite  field,  and  to  it  he  sacrificed  ease,  comfort, 
health  and  even  life  itself.  He  ever  felt  that  the  duties  of 
life  are  more  than  life,  and  that  death  is  but  an  event  in  life. 

"  There  is  no  Death !  what  seems  so  is  transition; 
This  life  of  mortal  breath 
Is  hut  the  suburb  of  the  life  Elysian, 
Whose  portal  we  call  Death." 

On  February  4th,  1867,  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation was  organized,  taking  the  place  of  a  society  of  the 
same  name,  incorporated  twelve  years  previously,  which  had 
collapsed. 

On  February  4th,  1867,  was  held  the  first  fair  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  Old  Ladies'  Home,  which  was  dedicated  July  10th, 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  209 

1867.  It  is  under  the  direction  of  a  Committee  representing 
all  the  Protestant  Churches  in  Lowell,  and  is  supported  by 
charity,  and  the  proceeds  of  fairs. 

On  April  29th,  St.  John's  Hospital  was  incorporated  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  The  Livermore  place 
in  Belvidere,  was  purchased  by  them,  and  the  hospital  located 
temporarily  in  the  dwelling-house  where  once  Phillip  Gedney, 
and  at  a  later  day  Judge  Livermore,  resided.  The  cost  of  the 
estate  was  $12,000. 

On  April  1st,  1867,  the  Emperor,  the  Empress  and  the 
Prince  Imperial,  assisted  in  "the  Coronation  of  Labor,"  by 
the  formal  opening  of  the  Universal  Exposition  at  Paris.  On 
the  same  day,  by  a  strange  contrast,  the  mule-spinners  of 
Lowell,  in  concert  with  those  of  other  cities,  struck  for  a 
reduction  in  their  hours  of  toil.  As  suffering  more  than  any 
other  class  of  factory  operatives  by  the  eleven-hour  rule,  they 
felt  it  to  be  their  mission  to  initiate  the  ten-hour  system. 
Unfortunately,  they  did  not  understand  the  law  of  strikes, 
under  the  operation  of  which  no  strike  can  succeed  when  the 
places  of  the  strikers  can  be  filled  with  little  delay,  and  with 
no  very  great  detriment  to  the  business  of  the  employers.  But 
few  will  have  the  hardihood  to  deny  that  the  demand  for  the 
ten-hour  rule  was  a  just  one, — that  the  factory  operatives  of 
New  England  ought  not  to  be  confined  to  daily  toil  longer  than 
those  of  Old  England.-' 

On  Febuary  16th,  a  branch  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hiber- 
nians, a  mutual  benefit  society,  was  established  here. 

On  June  20th,  1867,  died  Abner  W.  Buttrick,  for  more  than 
thirty  years  a  prominent  trader  in  Lowell.  By  his  last  will 
he  bequeathed  ten  thousand  dollars  to  Harvard  University,  to 
be  used  in  assisting  students  for  the  Christian  ministry. 

The  Anniversary  of  American  Independence  was  signalized, 
in  1867,  by  the  dedication  of  the  Statue  of  Victory — Dr.  Ayer's 

*  The  flrst  strike  amoui?  factory  operatives  in  the  United  States,  occurred 
October  1st,  183G,  when  about  three  thousand  Lowell  factory  girls  left  their 
work  in  the  mills. 

18^ 


210  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

gift  to  Lowell.  The  figure  is  that  of  a  draped  woman,  of  he- 
roic size,  with  wings,  handing  forth  in  her  right  hand  the  lau- 
rel wreath  of  victory,  and  holding  in  her  left  the  harvest  sheaf 
of  peace.  It  stands  in  an  appropriate  spot,  near  the  Monument 
which  commemorates  the  first  martyrs  of  the  Eebellion. 

Appropriate  addresses  were  delivered  by  Mayor  Richardson , 
Collector  Russell,  General  Cogswell,  General  Underwood,  and 
Postmaster  Goodwin,  and  also  by  Dr.  Ayer,  who  said : — 

"  While  making  the  tour  of  Europe,  I  could  not  help  contrasting  the 
abundance  of  statues,  columns,  and  other  productions  ot  art,  which  are  there 
displayed  for  the  public  enjoyment,  with  the  paucity  of  siich  objects  in  the 
United  States;  and  I  devoted  some  time  to  And  a  flgure  in  marble  or  bronze, 
which  I  could  present  to  our  citj'  as  a  commencement  of  this  kind  of  orna- 
mentation in  Lowell.  This  figure  was  moulded  by  Ranch,  the  great  Prussian 
sculptor,  for  the  King  of  Bavaria.  The  originals,  (for  there  is  a  pair  of  them,) 
an  antique  bronze,  stand  in  front  of  the  Royal  Palace  at  ^lunich, — one  on 
each  side  of  the  way;  but  I  do  not  think  they  are  either  as  appropriate  or  as 
effective  as  this  is  here.  The  monument  in  front  of  the  Royal  Palace  at  Ber- 
lin, erected  to  commemorate  the  triumph  of  the  Prussians  over  Napoleon, 
was  also  executed  by  Ranch,  both  in  marble  and  in  bronze;  and  is  consid- 
ered the  greatest  work  of  its  kind  in  the  world." 

In  1867,  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  John  Nesmith,  and  Dewitt  C. 
Farrington,  their  associates  and  successors,  were  incorporated  as 
the  Pentucket  Navigation  Company,  for  the  purpose  of  freight- 
ing merchandise  on  the  Merrimack  River  between  its  mouth 
and  the  line  of  the  State. 

On  September  10th,  1867,  the  Middlesex  Mechanics'  Asso- 
ciation opened  their  third  Exhibition,  under  the  Superinten- 
dency  of  Hocum  Hosford.  The  Committtee  of  Arrangements 
were,  Samuel  K.  Hutchinson,  (Chairman,)  Silas  Tyler,  Junior, 
(Secretary,)  James  B.  Francis,  T.  F.  Burgess,  T.  G.  Gerrish, 
F.  H.  Nourse,  N.  G.  Furnald,  George  F.  Richardson,  William 
D.  Blanchard,  J.  G.  Peabody,  H.  H.  Wilder,  Abiel  Pevey, 
W.  F.  Salmon,  Z.  E.  Stone,  Jeremiah  Clark,  AVilliam  Nichols, 
Cyrus  H.  Latham,  0.  E.  Cushing,  Charles  Kimball  and  Wil- 
liam 0.  Fiske.  The  Exhibition  closed  October  16th,  having 
been  visited  by  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
persons.      Over   fifteen  hundred  persons,   residents  of  twelve 


STATUE   OF    VICTOKY. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  211 

States,  contributed  to  this  exhibition,  which  was  one  of  the 
best  ever  held  in  New  England/-'' 

On  October  8th,  Major-General  Sheridan  visited  Lowell, 
and  was  honored  with  an  enthusiastic  reception  in  Monument 
Square.  A  battalion  of  veterans  of  the  army  and  navy  formed 
part  of  his  escort.  It  consisted  of  five  companies  extempor- 
ized for  the  occasion,  and  contained  many  who  had  served 
under  Sheridan  in  the  field. 

On  December  18th,  1867,  a  National  Convention  of  Amer- 
ican Manufacturers  assembled  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  rec- 
ommended to  Congress  the  abolition  of  all  taxation  on  the 
necessary  domestic  industries  of  the  country,  and  the  imposition 
of  taxation  on  the  luxuries  of  life.  These  recommendations 
were  cordially  indorsed  by  a  Convention  of  the  New  England 
Manufacturers,  in  Worcester,  January  22nd,  1868.  Until 
now.  the  manufacturers  of  the  country  had  struggled  to  im- 
prove their  prospects  by  crowding  the  lobbies  of  Congress  and 
clamoring  for  protective  tariffs.  After  fifty  years  of  failure, 
they  at  last  discovered  that  "  that  way  no  glory  lies."  Forget- 
ting their  former  narrowness,  and  rising  to  higher  and  broader 
views,  they  now  asked  for  such  legislation  only  as  would  benefit 
all  classes  and  not  merely  themselves.  The  adoption  of  these 
enlarged  and  enlightened  views  by  these  great  representative 
bodies,  marks  an  important  epoch  in  the  history  of  American 
Manufactures. 

More  than  a  third  of  a  century  has  now  elapsed  since  Chev- 
alier wrote  : — 

"  Lowell,  with  its  steeple-crowned  factories,  resembles  a  Spanish  town 
with  its  convents;  but  Avith  this  difference,  that  in  Lowell  you  meet  no  rags 
nor  Madonnas,  and  that  the  nuns  of  Lowell,  instead  of  working  sacred 
hearts,  spin  and  weave  cottons.  Lowell  is  not  amusing,  but  it  is  neat,  de- 
cent, peaceable,  and  sage.  Will  it  always  be  so?  Will  it  be  so  long?  It^ 
would  be  rash  to  atiirm  it;  hitherto,  the  life  of  manufacturing  operatives  has 
proved  little  favorable  to  the  preservation  of  severe  morals.  So  it  has  been 
in  France,  as  well  as  in  England,  Germany  and  Switzerland." 

*  A  full  report  of  it  has  been  published. 


212  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

It  is  probable  that  manufacturing  pursuits  are  unfavorable 
to  the  preservation  of  severe  morals  ;  but,  here,  the  process  of 
deterioration  has  been  kept  in  check,  heretofore,  by  the  ever 
changing  character  of  our  operatives.  Now  that  our  operative 
population  has  become  less  migratory,  the  dark  forebodings  of 
the  amiable  Frenchman  may  be  realized.  But  we  trust  not. 
In  view  of  the  possibility  of  so  direful  a  change,  we  would 
exclaim,  in  the  emphatic  words  of  good  old  Abraham  Cowley  : 

"  Come  the  eleventh  plagrie  rather  than  this  should  be, 
Come  rather  sink  ns  in  the  sea. 
Come  pestilence  and  mow  us  down, 
Come  God's  sword  rather  than  our  oavti." 


I 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


213 


NECEOLOGY  OF  LOWELL. 


"  Their  name,  their  age,  spelt  by  the  unlettered  muse, 
The  phice  of  fame  and  elegy  supply." 

It  is  astonishing  that  any  civilized  commonwealth  should 
continue,  as  Massachusetts  did,  generation  after  generation, 
with  no  public  registry  of  deaths  that  was  worthy  of  the  name. 
Prior  to  1833,  our  necrological  records  were  meagre  in  the 
extreme.  Few  as  were  the  men  who  lived  and  died  within 
the  present  limits  of  Lowell,  previous  to  that  year,  we  have  no 
record  of  half  of  them  ;  and  some,  perhaps,  are  forgotten,  who 
were  more  remarkable  (as  Sir  Thomas  Brown  would  say)  "than 
any  that  stand  remembered  in  the  known  account  of  time." 

Captain  Ford,  the  lumber  manufacturer,  died  in  1822,  at 
the  age  of  82  ;  Joel  Spaulding,  the  farmer,  in  1823,  at  81  ; 
Moses  Hale,  the  pioneer  manufacturer,  in  1828,  at  63;  Ben- 
jamin Melvin,  in  1830,  at  77 ;  Rev.  Alfred  V.  Bassett,  (some- 
time teacher)  in  1831,  at  25  ;  Simon  Parker,  in  1832,  at  74; 
Joel  Lewis,  the  teacher,  in  1834,  at  34  ;  Phineas  Whiting,  in 
1835,  at  68  ;  and  Jacob  Hale,  in  1836,  at  70.  In  1836,  also 
died  Reuben  Hills,  teacher,  and  Elisha  Glidden,  lawyer.  And 
here  we  begin  our  more  formal  record  of  the  deaths  of  some 
of  those  best  known  among  Lowellians — excluding  those  whose 
deaths  have  already  been  mentioned  in  this  history. 


Date 


Name 


Age 


Description 


1837— Jan.  30 

Nathaniel  D  Healey 

24 

Teacher 

April  5 

Artemas  Young 

52 

Manufacturer 

Aug.  8 

Frances  Ames 

74 

Widow  of  Fisher 

Ang.  31 

Benjamin  Butterfield 

78 

Farmer 

1838— March  2 

Jeremiah  Mason 

G8 

Manufacturer 

Aug.  5 

John  Kimball 

40 

Deputy  Sheriff 

1839— April  1 

Benjamin  Pierce 

82 

Politician* 

*  Governor  of  New  Hampshire;  father  of  President  Tierce. 


214 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


Date 


Name 


Age 


Description 


1839— June  7 

Horatio  Boy  den 

40 

Manufacturer 

Samuel  H.  Mann 

56 

Lawyer 

1840— Sept.  7 

Benjamin  Walker 

39 

Butcher 

Sept.  26 

Albert  Locke 

33 

Lawyer 

Nov.  1 

Alvah  Mansur 

40 

Trader 

1841— April  2 

Daniel  Pearson 

52 

Operative 

April  27 

John  Adams 

45 

Auctioneer 

1842— May  5 

Jane  Atkinson 

81 

Widow  of  Benj. 

Sept.  26 

Robert  Means 

56 

Agent 

Dec.  5 

Moses  Shattuck 

59 

Superintendent 

1843— May  5 

William  Paul 

47 

Designer 

Sept.  17 

Mark  T  Oilman 

43 

Paymaster 

Dec.  10 

Luther  Marshall 

62 

Farmer 

1844— Feb.  16 

Zadock  Rogers 

70 

Farmer 

Oct.  14 

James  W  Brady 

55 

Dyer 

Nov.  11 

George  Pollock 

52 

Book  Keeper 

1845— May  18 

E  M  Farrar 

37 

Trader 

Oct.  15 

Arza  L  Witt 

35 

Physician 

Dec.  12 

William  Duesbury 

57 

Apothecary 

1846— March  5 

Nathan  Wright 

85 

Farmer 

March  18 

Catherine  L  Patch  * 

34 

Widow  of  William 

June  23 

John  G  Tuttle 

44 

Clergyman 

1847— June  21 

James  Dugdale 

65 

Manufacturer 

April  13 

George  Gillis 

46 

Aug.  28 

Roswell  Douglass 

43 

Manufacturer 

Sept.  24 

William  Cowley 

25 

Manufacturer 

Sept.  30 

Nathaniel  Wright 

27 

Lawyer 

Jesse  Phelps 

47 

Overseer 

1848— June  22 

Robert  McKinley 

44 

Block  Printer 

Sept.  26 

Peleg  Bradley 

56 

Dracut  Physician 

Sept.  27 

William  Kitchen 

69 

Carpet  Weaver 

John  R  Adams 

Lawyer 

Dec.  18 

Jonathan  Bowers 

59 

Lumber  Trader 

1849— June  7 

Benjamin  F  Aiken 

45 

Merchant 

Aug.  9 

Ezra  Sheldon 

47 

Contractor 

Sept.  5 

James  Russell 

63 

Died  of  Cholera 

Sept.  1 

John  Butterfleld 

32 

Prof,  of  Medicine 

Sept.  10 

Nathaniel  Goodwin 

GG 

Clerk 

Nov.  19 

Edmund  L  LeBretou 

45 

Agent 

1850— March  1 

David  C  Scobey 

35 

Teacher 

March  21 

Samuel  Farson 

59 

Farmer 

April  4 

James  Stott 

55 

Manufacturer 

May  17 

Nathan  Durant 

46 

Trader 

June  11 

George  A  Butterfleld 

31 

Lawyer 

June  26 

William  Johnson 

47 

Cabinet  Maker 

1851— March  4 

Samuel  Gibby 

69 

Block  Cutter 

March  4 

David  Robinson 

75 

April  7 

John  Baron 

50 

Inn  Keeper 

April  21 

Abner  H  Brown 

Physician 

♦Missionary;  died  at  Cape  Palmas,  West  Africa. 


I 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


215 


Date 


Name 


Age  Description 


1851— April  26 

William  Wade 

69 

Wood  Measurer 

June  12 

Jacob  Carlton 

51 

Machinist 

Aug.  4 

John  T  Dodge 

26 

Clerk 

Aug.  20 

James  Fisher 

70 

Yeoman 

Sept.  3 

Charles  H  Barber 

56 

Sept.  23 

Christopher  Barou 

63 

Nov.  12 

Edmund  Hanscom 

39 

Trader 

1852— April  2 

Thomas  S  Hutchinson 

35 

Printer 

June  8 

Alexander  Wright 

52 

Agent 

June  9 

Otis  H  Morrill 

36 

Teacher 

Julys 

llobert  Hope 

47 

Dyer 

Aug.  2 

Emerson  Melvin 

57 

Beer  Maker 

AuiT.  7 

Isaac  Scripture 

51 

Baker 

Sept.  3 

Owen  M  Donahoe 

43 

Inn  Keeper 

Oct.  28 

James  Sharpies 

74 

Manufacturer 

Oct.  30 

David  Trull 

80 

Stone  Layer 

Nov.  4 

Philip  T  White 

44 

Tailor 

Dec.  5 

Charles  Bent 

63 

Hatter 

Dec.  22 

William  H  Sweetser 

41 

1853— April  7 

Jonas  W  Packard 

40 

Manufacturer 

April  28 

Robert  Gardner 

67 

Trader 

Mtiy  1 

Henry  J  Baxter 

50 

Tailor 

May  16 

Benjamin  F  French 

61 

Banker 

May  21 

Moses  Cheever 

86 

Farmer 

May  30 

Joseph  Hutchins 

36 

Inn  Keeper 

May  30 

Lawrence  Hill 

60 

Blacksmith 

July  9 

J  Davidson  Tatom 

52 

Machinist 

Sept.  23 

Allen  Haggett 

45 

Ticket  Master 

Oct.  6 

Thomas  P  Goodhue 

50 

Post  Master 

Oct.  16 

William  Paul 

63 

Operative 

Oct.  21 

Prentice  Cushing 

66 

Machinist 

Oct.  24 

Edward  Everett 

33 

Designer 

Nov.  6 

Augustus  M  Wyman 

42 

Nov.  20 

Jonas  Reed 

69 

Nov.  22 

Farwell  Piifier 

47 

Card  Manufacturer 

Nov.  24 

Nathan  C  Crafts 

57 

Operative 

1854— Jan.  25 

Daniel  Billings 

74 

Carpenter 

Jan.  27 

William  Gilmore 

34 

Overseer 

Jan.  31 

Alfred  Whittle 

44 

Reed  Maker 

Feb.  7 

Elisha  Stratton 

56 

Shop  Keeper 

Feb.  21 

Thomas  D  Smith 

47 

Engraver 

March  11 

Horatio  N  Hudson 

37 

Engineer 

March  15 

David  W  Grimes 

54 

Mechanic 

March  20 

Cummings  Barr 

59 

Stone  Layer 

April  23 

Dayton  R  Ball 

29 

Trader 

May  9 

Leonard  H  Coburn 

26 

Trader 

June  3 

Asa  Farr 

71 

Trader 

June  8 

Samuel  Garland 

62 

Woodturner 

Juue  8 

George  U  Stone 

59 

Physician 

216 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


Date 


Name 


Aare 


Description 


1854- 

-Jime  22 

Kodolphus  W  Sisson 

45 

Apothecary 

June  26 

James  C  Cronibie 

40 

Operative 

July  1 

Timothy  Weeks 

53 

July  5 

John  Varley 

70 

Mechanic 

July  30 

Aaron  H  Sherman 

55 

Mechanic 

Aug.  1 

Jeremiah  Taylor 

55 

Shop  Keeper 

Aus^.  9 

Isaac  Guild 

60 

Aug.  12 

Uzziah  C  Burnap 

60 

Clergyman 

Aug.  14 

Addison  Biastow 

69 

Watchmaker 

Aug.  21 

Edward  Roper 

44 

Manufacturer 

Sept.  4 

Nathan  Euss 

75 

Sept.  7 

Zaccheus  Shed 

60 

Constable 

Sept.  23 

Perez  0  Richmond 

69 

Manufacturer 

Oct.  12 

Francis  Hudson 

84 

Oct.  14 

Cliarles  McDermott 

70 

Agent 

Oct.  20 

John  McDonald 

69 

Manufacturer 

Nov.  15 

Elisha  Adams 

36 

Butcher 

Nov.  24 

William  Bell 

54 

Trader 

Nov.  27 

John  0  Benthal 

51 

Trader 

Dec.  16 

Windsor  Howe 

69 

Manufacturer 

1855- 

-Jan.  3 

Elmira  W  Bradley 

25 

Teacher 

Feb.  17 

John  Mason 

84 

Yeoman 

Feb.  28 

Reuben  Gale 

80 

Yeoman 

March  2 

Jacob  Jenness 

49 

Trader 

April  18 

Francis  Rogers 

Lost  in  the  Albany 

May  5 

Moses  Kidder 

GG 

Physician 

May  23 

Elisha  Ford 

77 

Surveyor  of  Land 

May  20 

Thomas  Bixby 

80 

Tanner 

June  3 

Jacob  Matthews 

75 

Clergyman 

June  21 

Betsey  Cox 
Nancy  H  Green 

83 

Teacher 

Julv  8 

Daniel  S  Littlehale 

31 

Engineer 

July  8 

Benjamin  F  Holden 

38 

Assessor 

July  25 

William  L  Day 

52 

Wheelwright 

Aug.  13 

Simeon  Spauiding 

79 

Farmer 

Aug.  29 

John  G  Pillsbury 

37 

Printer 

Sept.  28 

Jonathan  Allen 

40 

Bookbinder 

Oct.  8 

Oliver  G  Whipple* 

24 

Manufacturer 

Oct.  13 

Timothy  O'Brien 

63 

Clergyman 

Oct.  24 

Thomas  Crossley 

74 

Trader 

Nov.  1 

Asahel  Gilbert  Jr 

36 

Trader 

Dec.  21 

John  D  Pillsbury 

Physician 

1856- 

-Jan.  12 

Thomas  Scotchburn 

67 

Rope  Maker 

Jan.  26 

John  Bates 

54 

Calico  Printer 

Jan.  29 

John  Little 

67 

Manufacturer 

Feb.  13 

Simeon  Moors 

62 

Farmer 

Feb.  24 

Benjamin  Parker 

53 

Farmer 

Feb.  29 

Thomas  Boynton 

81 

Farmer 

March  2 

Temperance  Thomas 

104 

Widow 

♦Killed  by  a  powder-mill  explosion,  at  Gorham,  Maine. 


niSTOllY    OF    LOWELL. 


217 


Date 

Name 

Age 

Description 

1S50 — March  7 

Jolm  Trull 

50 

Stone  Worker 

April  8 

William  Cotter 

38 

Clerk 

April  11 

Ira  Spalding 

52 

Ilousewright 

May  11 

Joseph  Bradshaw 

80 

Straw  Worker 

May  30 

Thomas  Dodge 

07 

Machinist 

July  20 

David  Dana 

59 

Pluml)er 

Aug.  6 

Ezra  Adams 

84 

Parmer 

Sept.  3 

Benjamin  H  Shepard 

35 

Trader 

Sept.  4 

John  Brierly 

81 

Laborer 

Sept.  3 

Catherine  Mungan 

108 

Widow 

Sept.  22 

William  H  Gage 

37 

Shop  Keeper 

Oct.  20 

Walker  Lewis 

58 

Barber 

Nov.  3 

Josepli  B  Gage 

30 

Nov.  9 

Robert  T  Tremlett 

32 

Accountant 

Nov.  21 

Theodore  Butte riield 

02 

Farmer 

Nov.  21 

Joseph  Merrill 

08 

Clergyman 

Nov.  20 

Lewis  Packard 

07 

Manufacturer 

ls'.7— Jan.  29 

Frederick  Parker 

43 

Lawyer 

Jau.  2u 

Robert  Anderson 

50 

Carpenter 

Jan.  21 

Lewis  W  Lawrence 

40 

Machinist 

Marcli  1 

Nathaniel  Critchett 

40 

Shoedealer 

March  3 

George  H  Cai'leton 

52 

Apothecary 

March  17 

Jonathan  M  Marstou 

50 

Restorateur 

May  18 

Landon  Adams 

50 

Manufacturer 

June  19 

Ira  Prye 

58 

Clerk 

June  22 

Henry  Whiting 

35 

Physician 

July  6 

Michael  Roach 

05 

Undertaker 

Sept.  G 

Oliver  March 

48 

Bookseller 

Sept.  19 

William  L  Ay  ling 

41 

Comedian 

Oct.  7 

Benjamin  F  Poster 

45 

Parmer 

Nov.  22 

John  Allen 

55 

Physician 

Nov.  20 

Benjamin  P  Neallc}" 

41 

Grocer 

1858— Jan.  23 

Henry  A  Pierce 

24 

Journalist 

Jan.  24 

Eunice  Green 

80 

Mother  of  Dr.  J  0. 

March  2 

Larkin  Moors 

85 

Cordwainer 

April  0 

Israel  Hildreth 

08 

Dracut  Physician 

April  U 

Tisdale  Lincoln 

71 

Trader 

April  20 

Joseph  B  Giles 

52 

Writing  Master 

May  7 

Mary  Burnet 

98 

Spinster 

Julv  20 

Steplien  Weymouth 

53 

Watchman 

Anlx.  22 

Ira  J5  Pearsons 

41 

Lawyer 

Sept.  20 

Eldad  Pox 

49 

Carpet  Weaver 

Sept.  23 

Edward  Winslow 

02 

Oct.  5 

Sarah  C  Livermore 

81 

Widow  of  Judge  L 

Nov.  5 

Nathaniel  Wright* 

75 

Lawyer 

Dec.  8 

Moses  M  Tuxbury 

00 

Farmer 

*  Mr.  Wright  was  the  first  member  from  Lowell  in  eithei  braiich  of  th©: 
M\te  Legislature,  and  afterward  3Iayor.  He  was  an  able  lawyer,  and  hart, 
.•.ii  extensive  practice  at  Pawtucket  Falls  before  the  building  of  LowclL 


19 


218 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL 


Date 


Name 


Age  Description 


1858— Dec.  24 

Isaiah  W  Pelsue 

53 

Watchman 

1859— Jan.  29 

Timothy  Frj^e 

63 

Clerk 

March  10 

Hazen  Elliott 

62 

Assessor 

March  17 

John  Adams 

73 

April  6 

Daniel  Varnum 

69 

Farmer 

April  12 

Alanson  J  Richmond 

39 

Manufacturer 

May  17 

George  Teel 

73 

City  Crier 

June  20 

Patrick  Manice 

56 

Fisherman 

June  22 

Varnum  Balcom 

66 

Carpenter 

June  23 

Joseph  M  Dodge 

67 

Carpenter 

June  24 

Aaron  Mansur 

83 

July  18 

William  F  Johnson 

Comedian 

July  22 

William  H  Hobson 

25 

Engraver 

Aug-.  13 

Amos  Woodbury 

59 

Carpenter 

Aug.  24 

William  R  Barker 

46 

Sliop  Keeper 

Aug.  30 

William  Atherton 

51 

Mechanic 

Oct.  21 

Daniel  R  Kimball 

53 

Stable-keeper 

Oct.  22 

Ebenezer  0  Fifield 

78 

Farmer 

Oct.  31 

Samuel  W  Brown 

55 

Superintendent 

Nov.  7 

Oliver  C  Prescott 

32 

Mason 

Nov.  11 

Samuel  J  Varney 

46 

Journalist 

Nov.  14 

Thomas  Ordway 

72 

City  Clerk 

Dec.  19 

Charles  Maynard 

49 

Shop  Keeper 

1860— Jan.  31 

Thomas  Yeoman 

82 

Manufacturer 

Feb.  19 

Joseph  Svyeetser 

73 

Baker 

Feb.  19 

Richard  Dennis 

57 

Machinist 

April  10 

Tristam  Barnard 

94 

Farmer 

May  29 

Asa  G  Loomis 

50 

Collector 

June  19 

Joshua  E  Couant 

59 

Yeoman 

July  0 

Joshua  Roberts 

70 

R.  R.  Agent 

July  14 

Nicholas  G  Norcross 

54 

Lumber  Trader 

Aug.  21 

Joseph  Hovey 

76 

Farmer 

Aug.  26 

Timothy  McLaughlin 

42 

Trader 

Oct.  17 

Andrew  Barr 

61 

Tailor 

Oct.  23 

Israel  Cheney 

72 

Musician 

Dec.  17 

Sextus  Sawtell 

34 

Musician 

Michael  O'Brien 

96 

1861 — Jan.  5 

Susan  Webster 

89 

AVidow 

Jan. 10 

Jemima  Rogers 

83 

Widow  of  Zadoc 

Jan.  10 

Janet  Wright 

84 

Mother  of  Alex'r 

Feb.  28 

Abraham  11  owe 

72 

Carpenter 

Feb.  10 

Leonard  W  Jaquith 

45 

Ag<^nt 

March  1(1 

Daniel  West 

54 

Trader 

March  10 

Stephen  C  Moar 

80 

Farmer 

March  22 

Martha  M  Cox 

Teacher 

March  27 

Royal  Call 

61 

Phvsician 

March  28 

Susan  Moody 

80 

Widow  of  Paul 

March  30 

Reuben  Butterfield 

78 

Farmer 

May  16 

Otis  Cutler 

59 

Cordwainer 

May  16 

Hiram  Hersey 

56 

Victualer 

HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


219 


Date 

Name 

Age 

Description 

1  SOI— May  24 

IMoses  Clieevcr 

08 

Teamster 

May  30 

William  Goding 

02 

Manufacturer 

May  81 

Joseph  Grav 

Clergyman 

June  21 

Charles  N  Dolloff 

Lost  in  the  Levant 

Aug-.  1 

Myron  0  Allen 

30 

Physician 

Alio;.  5 

Thomas  Hopkins 

80 

Ckn'gyman 

Aug-.  27 

Joseph  Jenkinsou 

38 

Barber 

Sept.  27 

Elhanan  W  Scott 

30 

Machinist 

Oct.  10 

Amos  Merriam 

08 

Assessor 

Oct.  17 

Edward  A  Staniels 

40 

Apothecary 

Nov.  12 

Levi  E  Lincoln 

40 

Apothecary 

Dec.  17 

Thomas  Brophy 

05 

Hatter 

18G2— Jau.  12 

l5avid  Thissell 

00 

Farmer 

Jan.  10 

Harrison  G  Elaisdell 

40 

Lawyer 

Feb.  2 

James  T  McDermott 

55 

Clergyman 

Feb.  9 

John  Bowers 

09 

Farmer 

Fob.  17 

Luther  S  Cheney 

39 

Victualer 

Feb.  19 

George  AV  Bean 

57 

Insurance  Agent 

Feb.  22 

James  Patterson 

07 

Wool  Buyer 

March  9 

John  1)  Prince 

48 

Manufacturer 

April  12 

Beniamin  Livingston 

73 

Farmer 

April  20 

William  Bradley 

09 

Dver 

April  30 

Patrick  Lannan 

So 

Trader 

May  1 

Abram  T  Ilolbrook 

57 

Conductor 

May  2 

James  P  Appleton 

51 

Sign  Painter 

May  18 

David  Rogers 

54 

Stabler 

May  24 

Zachariah  B  Caverly 

40 

Minister  to  Lima 

May  25 

Horatio  Bradley 

57 

Ticket  Agent 

May  2.5 

Charles  Smith 

53 

Overseer 

June  11 

Jesse  Stiles 

50 

Overseer 

Aug.  29 

Otis  L  Allen 

52 

Trader 

Aug.  4 

Joseph  Parker 

80 

Auctioneer 

Sept.  2 

Matthew  F  Worthen 

57 

Machinist 

Sept.  14 

Calvin  Woodward 

54 

Trader 

Sept.  20 

Darwin  Mott 

39 

Clergyman 

Sept.  27 

William  Spencer 

59 

Agent 

Sept.  30 

Tolm  S  Wyman 

52 

Mechanic 

Oct.  28 

William  Greenhalgh 

53 

Engraver 

Nov.  3 

riiomas  Lovett 

82 

Carpenter 

1                         Nov.  19 

Mertoun  C  Brvant 

39 

Agent 

Nov.  24 

Charles  L  TiUien 

55 

Agent 

1803— Jan.  10     j 

David  (irover                     | 

49 

Operative 

Jan.  10     I 

Andrew  Oates                      j 

82 

British  Soldier* 

Jan.  20     i 

rimothy  G  Tweed              i 

54 

Butcher 

Feb.  10    1 

Charles"  M  Short                 : 

03 

Grocer 

♦Fought  at  Corunna  under  Moore,  and  at  Waterloo  under  Wellington, 
and  was  one  of  the  twelve  grenadiers  v.ho  bore  the  remains  of  Napoleon  to 
his  grave  at  St.  Helena.  Several  other  Waleiloo  veterans  closed  their  <-a- 
reers  in  Lowell. 


220 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


Date 

Name 

Age 

Description 

1863— April  9 

Charles  A  Davis 

Ph5'sician 

May  9 

Amos  Hyde 

59 

Machinist 

June  19 

Benjamin  Mather 

87 

Surveyor 

June  21 

Leonard  Woods 

63 

Machinist 

July  7 

Darwin  D  Baxter 

52 

Trader 

July  20 

William  H  Goding 

40 

Manufacturer* 

July  20 

Ira  Bisbee 

49 

Machinist* 

July  2-t 

Hiram  A  Alger 

37 

Lawyer 

Aug.  8 

Catherine  Wittie 

101 

Aug.  8 

Artemas  Holden 

87 

Cooper 

Aug.  25 

Lizzie  Emmons 

i\.ctress 

Sept.  30 

David  K  Kirby 

51 

Brakeman 

Nov.  1 

Frank  C  Huntington 

33 

N.  Y.  Merchant 

Nov;  22 

Otis  Perham 

51 

Phvsician 

Nov.  27 

David  Tapley 

55 

Trader 

Dec.  30 

Amos  R  Bojuton 

49 

Physician 

1864— Jan.  7 

George  Bingham 

43 

Trader 

Jan.  8 

Daniel  Cass 

76 

Dentist 

Jan.  14 

Andi-ew  J  Butler 

48 

Trader 

Jan.  18 

Charles  E  Brazer 

36 

Clerk 

Jan.  19 

George  Miller 

42 

Engraver 

Jan.  22 

Samuel  Stone 

72 

Trader 

Feb.  23 

Abel  Patten 

59 

Clergyman 

Feb.  24 

James  S  Olcott 

62 

Physician 

March  15 

James  Duxl)ury 

72 

Engraver 

April  4 

Elijah  L  Cole 

48 

Physician 

April  17 

Jonathan  Spalding 

89 

Farmer 

April  17 

Adin  Ho] brook 

84 

Manufacturer 

April  17 

Jos i  ah  F  Evans 

45 

Tailor 

April  21 

Paul  Hills 

7(> 

Farmer 

May  6 

Bryan  Morse 

81 

Clergyman 

May  9 

Royal  T  Hazeltine 

58 

Carpenter 

May  10 

Zadoc  Wilkins 

82 

Capt.  in  1812  W 

IV 

May  11 

Dean  Penniman 

63 

Trad(^r 

May  15 

Cyril  French 

74 

Trader 

May  17 

Samuel  Abbott 

52 

Dentist 

May  28 

Daniel  S  Wait 

49 

Carpenter 

May  29 

J  Wallace  Thomas 

29 

Comedian 

June  5 

George  Briggs 

57 

Mechanic 

June  7 

James  H  B  Ayer 

76 

Clerk 

June  23 

A  Waldo  Fisher 

70 

Machinist 

July  8 

John  Avery 

64 

Agent 

July  8 

Isaac  Anthony 

77 

Machinist 

July  9 

Franklin  Webster 

49 

Farmer 

July  19 

David  M  G  Cutler 

55 

Mechanic 

July  22 

Nathan  Hanson 

86 

Mechanic 

Aug.  7 

Benjamin  Brown 

82 

Farmer 

Aug.  14 

John  Buttrick 

69 

Carpenter 

*  Killed  with  three  others  by  the  explosion  of  a  steam  boiler. 


HISTORY  OF    LOWELL. 


221 


Date 


Name 


Age 


Description 


1864— Aug.  15 
Aug.  20 
Aug.  24 
Sept.  4 
Sept.  24 
Oct.  12 
Oct.  15 
Oct.  18 
Oct.  18 
Oct.  30 
Oct. 
Oct. 
Nov.  10 
Nov.  21 
Nov.  6 
Dec.  26 

18G5— Jan.  4 
Jan.  25 
Feb.  10 
March  12 
March  12 
.    March  21 
April  3 
April  10 
April  14 
April  19 
April  23 
May  10 
May  22 
June  20 
June  22 
Julv  3 
July  9 
Aug.  G 
Aug.  9 
Aug.  13 
Aug.  2G 
Sept.  2 
Sept.  6 
O.-.t.  9 
Oct.  14 
Oct.  30 
Nov.  1 
Nov.  IS 
Dec.  25 

18G6— Jan.  27 
Jan.  29 
Feb.  3 


William  Wyman 
George  Pierce 
Josephine  S  Pearson 
Perley  Parker 
Zadoc  llogers 
William  A  Lamb 
Isaac  W  Scribner 
Kufus  Wilkins 
Henry  1)  C  Oris  wold 
Joshua  Thissell 
Jeremiah  Kidder 
Lemuel  Porter 
Aaron  CowIca^ 
Deliverance  Woodward 
Lizzie  A  Pinder 
Dennis  Crowley  * 
James  W  Boynton 
Joshua  Mf'lvin 
Jonathan  Weeks 
James  W  Kershaw 
jPeter  Powers 
iJamcs  Leavitt 
James  Dennis 
Charles  Walker 
Alanson  Crane 
Wiliiam  D  Vinal 
Francis  E  Hicks 
JoJin  Earle 
William  A  Swan 
Noah  F  Gates 
Joshua  Mather 
Caleb  Livingston 
Joseph  Manahan 
Joshua  Bennett 
CJiarles  Sherwin 
William  Wagner 
Samuel  P  Buttrlck 
Harvej'  Snow 
iJohn  Bennett 
Nathan  Butirick 
James  K  Dewhurst 
Edwin  L  Slied 
J  Wheelock  Patch 
Patrick  P  Campbell 
Elinira  B  Stanton 
John  Whitnev 
Daniel  P  liradley 
Benjamin  O  Paige 


82 
C>8 
20 
G8 
59 
34 
57 
57 
4G 
72 
48 

G5 
79 
24 
67 
39 
72 
61 
36 
59 

I? 

33 

55 
55 
33 
83 
63 
48 
GO 
GO 
G7 
72 
Gl 
93 
52 


lYeoman 

[Physician 

jTeacher 

[Yeoman 

jFarmer 

I  Clerk 

'Physician 

:  Butcher 

[Watchmaker 

jFarmer 

'Trader 

[Clergjnnan 

Manufacturer 

[Farmer 

JTeacher 

iMechanic 

[Coal  Dealer 

Physician 

Clerk 

Trader 

Mason 

Machinist 

[physician 

Manufacturer 

Dentist 

Clergyman 

Yeoman 

Mason 

Assessor 

Manufacturer 

Trader 

Trader 

Billerica  Capitalist 

Manufacturer 

Weaver 

Carpenter 

Mechanic 

Snrveyor 

Carpenter 

[Block  Cutter 

[Deputy  SherilT 

iTrader 

jPhysiciau 

jTeacher 

Manufacturer 

Farmer 

'Manufacturer- 


*  One  of  the  first  Irishmen  that  settled  in  Lowell ;  came  in  1822. 


222 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


Date 


Name 


As-e 


Description 


18G6— Feb.  3 

Henry  C  Gray 

30 

Expressman  * 

Feb.  5 

John  McAlvin 

06 

Farmer 

Feb.  5 

Henry  L  C  Newton 

43 

Printer 

Feb.  7 

Malilou  Snow 

07 

Farmer 

Feb.  13 

James  Thompson 

65 

Physician 

Feb.  24 

Thomas  Charnley 

84 

March  20 

Jonathan  Knowles 

86 

Operative 

Maj'  9 

Daniel  H  Dean 

61 

Trader 

May  21 

Benjamin  P  Eogers 

52 

Farmer 

May  23 

Lydia  Wood 

08 

Shop  Keeper 

May  24 

John  Green 

08 

Gardener 

June  23 

Amos  Hull 

08 

Undertaker 

July  2 

Horace  Howard 

04 

Coal  Dealer 

July  17 

Mehitable  0  Allen 

93 

Mother.Dr.NAlldi 

July  18 

Richard  F  Mercer 

60 

Overseer 

Auii;.  6 

Alouzo  T  Davis 

55 

Cap  Maker 

Sept.  3 

Perez  Fuller 

09 

Tailor 

Oct.  12 

George  0  Smith 

59 

Bolt  Maker 

Nov.  2 

Charres  Churchill 

52 

Trader 

Nov.  7 

Henry  Smith 

09 

Trader 

Nov.  11 

David  M  Erskine 

59 

Trader 

Nov.  18 

Benjamin  Dean 

72 

Engraver 

Dec-  7 

Asa  \Vetherbee 

81 

Carpenter 

Dec.  18 

James  Winterbottoni 

80 

Carpet  Maker 

Dec.  22 

Zenas  Crowell 

02 

Overseer 

18(57— Feb.  10 

John  Aiken 

70 

Agent 

Feb.  28 

John  A  Eogers 

59 

Mauufiicturer 

March  2 

William  D  Mason 

74 

Mechanic 

March  2 

Hananiah  Whitney 

75 

Trader 

March  23 

Benjamin  Skeiton 

84 

Physician 

March  27 

Ransom  Reed 

04 

Trader 

April  1 

Ivory  Edwards 

00 

Mechanic 

April  6 

Jonathan  M  Allen 

53 

Prof,  of  Anatomy 

April  10 

Alfred  E  Nichols 

37 

Mechanic 

April  21 

Joshua  Swan 

79 

Contractor 

April  23 

David  Hyde 

50 

Broker 

May  19 

James  0  Patterson 

63 

Manufacturer 

May  25 

Charles  W  Dodge 

41 

Trader 

June  15 

Susan  Prince 

83 

Widow  of  Jolin  I) 

June  24 

Joel  Stone 

08 

Trader 

Sept.  1 

Jeremiah  Garlar^d 

77 

Trader 

Sept.  5 

Caleb  Crosby 

01 

Mason 

Aug.  14 

Jonas  Balcom 

84 

Carpenter 

Aug.  13 

Thomas  Midgley 

50 

Overseer 

Oct.  6 

Stephen  S  Seavy 

53 

Trader 

Oct.  14    • 

Henry  B  Stanton  Jr 

33 

Post  Office  Clerk 

Oct.  15 

Charles  A  Babcock 

52 

Agent 

Oct.  19 

William  Smith 

i    t 

Lawyer 

Oct.  19 

Thomas  Slater 

09 

Chaplain  at  Jail 

*  Killed  by  steamboat  explosion  near  Vicksburg. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


223 


Date 

Name 

Age 

Description 

1867— Nov.  (3 

Edward  B  Rawliugs 

G2 

Carpenter 

Nov.  7 

Josiah  P  Vickery 

U 

Painter 

Nov.  27 

Joseph  Derbyshire 

46 

Farmer 

Dec.  17 

Elias  P  Marsh 

58 

Manufacturer 

Dec.  15 

Matthew  F  Worthen 

21 

Accidentally  Shot 

18G8— Jau.  G 

John  AVaui^h 

44 

Trader 

Jan.  19 

Bethuel  T  Thompson, 

50 

Trader 

Jan.  25 

George  Crosby 

55 

Trader 

Jan.  27 

James  Adams 

60 

Overseer 

Jan.  30 

Maynard  Bragg 

71 

Mechanic 

Feb.  8 

James  O'Neil 

102 

Had  98  descendants 

Feb.  18 

Henry  Smitli 

47 

Machinist  * 

Feb.  19 

Thomas  Wright 

45 

Lawyer 

LOWELL  LEGLSLATOPiS. 


The  State  Senators  from  Lowell  have  been  given  on  page 
159.  Our  Kepresentatives,  too  numerous  to  be  named  in  the 
text,  have  been  as  follows  : — 

1S2G  and  1827— Nathaniel  Wright. 

1828— Nathaniel  Wright  and  Elisha  Ford. 

1829 — J.  P.  Robinson  and  J.  S.  C.  Knowlton. 

18:>0— Kirk  Boott,  Joshua  Swan,  and  J.  P.  Robinson. 

1831 — Kirk  Boott,  Joshua  Swan,  J.  P.  Robinson,  J.  S.  C.  Knowl- 
ton and  Eliphalet  Case.f 

1832 — Ebenezer  Appleton,  Artemas  Holden,  O.  M.  Whipple,  Seth 
Ames,  Maynard  Braijg,  William  Davidson  and  Willard 
Guild. 

1833— S.  A.  Coburn,  J.  P.  Robinson,  Cyril  French,  Simon  Adams, 
Jacob  Robbins,  J.  L.  Sheafe,  J(!S>?e  Fox,  Royal  South  wick, 
Josoj)!!  Tyler  and  Jonathan  Spalding. 

1834 — Sanmcl  lloward,  Kirk  Boott,  James  Chandler,  Osgood 
Dane,  Jesse  Phelps  and  O.  M.  Whipple.  (Eleven  vacan- 
cies, no  others  receiving  a  majority  vote.) 

*  Killed  with  two  others  by  the  explosion  of  a  locomotive. 

t  This  was  the  last  regular  session  of  the  Legislature  that  was  held  in 
M:^y.  The  regular  sessions  have  since  commenced  in  January,  annually — 
the  members  being  elected  in  the  preceding  November. 


224  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


1835— Kirk  Boott,  A.  W.  Buttrick,  James  Chandler,  William  Da- 
vidson, Artemas  Holdeu,  John  Mixer,  Matthias  Parkhurst. 
Alpheus  Smith,  Joseph  Tyler,  0.  M.  Whipple,  Benjamin 
Walker,  William  Wymau  and  J.  A.  Knowles. 

1836— William  Austin,  A*.  W.  Fisher,  H.  W.  Hastings,  Royal 
Southwick,  Aaron  Mansnr,  Sidney  Spalding-,  W.  W.  Wy- 
man,  J.  M.  Marston,  Stephen  Mansur,  Jonathan  Tyler,  J. 
L.  Sheat'e,  Alexander  Wright,  Jesse  Fox,  J.  B.  French,  S. 
H,  Marvin,  E.  D.  Leavitt  and  James  Chandler. 

1837 — J.  W.  Mansur,  Stephen  Goodhue,  James  Wilson,  J.  K. 
Fellows,  W.  S  Merrill,  J.  G.  Peabody,  Jesse  Clement,  J. 
G.  Abbott,  J.  M.  Doe,  W.  N.  Owen,  Charles  Hastings,  G. 
K.  Eastman,  Samuel  Clark,  Samuel  Willard,  John  Mead, 
Loring  Pickering,  Richard  Fowler. 

1838 — Jesse  Fox,  William  Nortli,  Thomas  Hopkinson,  Jonathan 
Bowers,  W.  AV.  Wyman,  J.  M.  Dodge,  Perez  Fuller,  David 
Nourse,  J.  M.  Marston. 

1839—0.  M.  Whipple,  Joshua  Swan,  Edward  Winslow,  Royal 
Southwick,  William  Davis,  Hazen  Elliott,  David  Nourse, 
H.  J.  Baxter,  Jesse  Phelps; 

1840 — Isaac  Scripture,  Jeft'erson  Bancroft,  Royal  Southwick, 
Jesse  Phelps,  Nathaniel  Wright,  Alvah  Mansur. 

184:1 — Elislni  Bartlett,  Jeflerson  Bancroft,  Samuel  Burbank, 
William  Colton,  Franklin  Farrar,  R.  G.  Colby,  Pearson 
Titcomb,  G.  W.  Wendell,  Benjamin  Wilde. 

1842 — Jonathan  Adams.  Jonathan  Tyler,  E.  F.  Watson,  Amos 
Hyde,  Otis  Allen,  D.  S.  Richardson,  J.  L.  Fitcs,  J.  P.  Rob- 
inson, Asa  Hall. 

1843 — J.  T.  Hardy,  Henry  Smith,  Samuel  Lawrence,  Jonathan 
Tyler,  James  Tower,  Abram  Howe,  Roswell  Douglass,  D. 
S.  Richardson,  (one  vacancy.) 

1844 — Joshua  Swan,  William  Schouler,  James  Fenno,  J.  W.  PIol- 
land,  Daniel  Balch,  J.  M.  Dodge,  J.  A.  Knowles,  Franklin 
Farrar,  J.  L.  Fitts. 

1845 — S.  P.  Adams,  George  Bragdon,  Isaac  Cooper,  Joseph 
Griffin,  Thomas  Hopkinson,  J.  A.  Knowles,  John  Mixer, 
Jesse  ]?*helps,  William  Schouler. 

1846 — C.  W.  Blanchard,  Leonard  Huntress,  G.N.Nichols,  Sidney 
Spalding,  Benjamin  Wilde,  G.  A.  Butt^rfield,  (three  vacan- 
cies.) 

1847 — D.  S.  Richardson,  L.  R.  Winslow,  Joshua  Converse,  Wm. 
Schouler,  G.  A.  Butterjield,  Ziba  Abbott,  Arnold  Welch. 
J.  L.  Tripp. 

1848 — Ransom  Reed,  H.  G.  F.  Corliss,  James  Fenno,  Stephen 
Moar,  S.  W.  Brown,  Joel  Powers,  Sidney  Spalding,  Ben- 
jamin Green,  Oilman  Gale. 

1849— Homer  Bartlett,  Joseph  Locke,  H.  G.  F.  Corliss,  Stephen 
Moar,  Sanuiel  Burbank,  Ransom  Reed,  George  Brownell, 
James  Adams,  Horace  Parmenter. 

1850 — George  Brownell,  Francis  Bush,  Stephen  Mansur,  D.  P. 
Brigham,  Samuel  Burbank,  James  Dinsmoor,  J.  M.  Bui- 
lens,  Jefferson  Bancroft,  W^illiam  Ripley. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  225 


1851 — Tappan  Weiitwovth,  Joseph  Bodlow,  James  Dinsmoor, 
Geoi'o^e  Gardner,  Jolni  MaA'iiavd,  Hannibal  Powers,  Silas 
Tyler,  Francis  Bush,  Jeft'erson  IJancrol't,  William  Ripley. 

1852 — AV.  S.  Robinson,  Erastns  Douglass,  J.  E.  Farnsworth, 
Lnther  Fames,  Luther  B.  Morse,  Otis  H.  Morrill,  J.  K. 
Fellows,  A.  R.  Brown,  Sidney  Spalding,  (one  vacancy.) 

1853 — L.  B.  Morse,  W.  S.  liobinson,  John  S.  Fletcher,  Jonathan 
Page,  Caleb  Crosby,  J.  M.  Hadley,  B.  F.  Butler,  Luther 
Fames,  William  Roby,  (one  vacancy.) 

185-4 — Ira  Spalding,  Daniel  Ayer,  Benjamin  Poole,  Solon  Stevens, 
James  Townsend,  Daniel  Holt,'  S.  J.  IXittle,  A.  B.  Wright, 
John  Smith,  AVilliam  Brown. 

1855 — J.  G.  Peabodv,  J.  P.  Jewett,  Henry  Phelps,  Jr.,  Horace 
Howard.  S.  a".  Waters,  S.  W.  Hanks,  D.  C.  Eddy,  Walter 
Burnham,  Ransom  Clittbrd,  Weare  Cliflbrd. 

185G— Weare  Cliflbrd,  C.  F.  Hard.  Jonathan  Johnson,  L.  J. 
Fletcher,  A.  B.  Rob}-,  Asa  Hildreth,  Jonathan  Weeks, 
Caleb  Crosby,  Henry  Phelps,  Jr.,  J.  M.  Burtt. 

1857 — S,  P.  Adams,  Alfred  Gilman,  Joshua  Merrill,  J.  A.  Good- 
win, I.  L.  Moore,  Seth  Pooler,  J.  S.  Pollard,- C.F.  Hard, 
Ignatius  Tvler,  Noah  Conant. 

1858— William  G^.  Wise,  Sullivan  Tay,  H.  G.  F.  Corliss,  S.  K. 
Fielding,  John  C.  Jepson,  Georire  Stevens. 

1859— M.  A.  Thomas,  Sullivan  Tay,  John  C.  Woodward,  T.  Went- 
worth,  Walter  Burnham,  John  A.  Goodwin. 

1860— Stephen  P.  Sargent,  David  Nichols,  Jeremiah  Clark,  Tap- 
pan  Wentworth,  Noah  F.  Gates,  John  A.  Goodwin. 

1861— Stephen  P.  Sargent,  David  Nichols,  Jeremiah  Clark,  Hap- 
good  Wright,  Nathaniel  B.  Favor,  John  A.  Goodwin. 

1862— Paul  Hill,  Samuel  W.  Stickney,  Sewall  G.  Mack,  Hapgood 
Wright,  Josiah  B.  French,  Edward  F.  Sherman. 

1863— Paul  Hill,  Lorenzo  G.  Howe,  Frederic  Holton,  Tappan 
Wentworth,  John  A.  Buttrick,  Joshua  N.  Marshall. 

1864— Jacob  Rogers,  Lorenzo  G.  Howe,  Frederic  Holton,  Tappan 
Wentworth,  George  W.  Partridge,  Joshua  N.  Marshall. 

18G5— Jacob  Rogers,  William  T.  McNeill,  Sullivan  L.  Ward,  Hor- 
ace J.  Adams,  John  F.  Manahan,  Zina  E.  Stone. 

1866— Foster  Wilson,  Lorenzo  D.  Cogswell,*  Sullivan  L.  Ward, 
Hocum  Hosford,  John  F.  Manahan,  Zina  E.  Stone. 

1867— Andrew  F.  Jewett,  Charles  A.  Stott,  Oliver  W.  Smith, 
John  F.  Manahan,  Edward  F.  Sherman. 

1868— James  B.  Francis,  Benjamin  J.Williams,  Oliver  W.  Smith, 
Josiah  Gates,  William  McFarlin. 

*  William  T.  McNeill  i-eceivecl  the  original  certificate  of  electiou,  but  Mr. 
Cogswell  successfully  contested  the  sent. 


226  HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 

LOWELL  NAVAL  OFFICERS  IN   SERVICE  DURING 
THE  REBELLION. 


Ames,  Pelliam  W.,  Paymaster  of  the  Connecticut. 

Bancroft,  Kirk  Henry,  Surg-eon  of  the  Iosco;  bombardments  of- 
Fort  Fisher. 

Birtwhistle,  James,  Master  of  the  Madawaska. 

Boyuton,  James  A.,  Engineer  of  the  Conmbia. 

Brown,  William  S.,  Engineer  of  the  Canonicus ;    bombardments 
of  Fort  Fisher;  occupntion  of  Charleston. 

Colby,  Edward  P.,  Surgeon  of  the  William  G.  Anderson. 

Cowley,  Charles,  Paymaster  of  the  Lehigh :  Fleet-Judge-Advo- 
cate, Staff  of  Admiral  Dahlgren;  two  da3^s'  bombardment  of 
Fort  Sumter;  eight  days'  bombardment  of  Fort  Pemberton 
and  the  batteries  on  the  Stono ;  l)attles  of  Honey  Hill  and 
Gregory's  Landing;  occupation  of  Savannah  and  Charles- 
ton;* blown  up  in  Santee  River  by  a  torpedo,  which  de- 
stroyed Dahlgren's  Flagship,  Harvest  Moon ;  reconnoitering 
expedition  to  Cuba. 

De  Arville,  Louis,  Engineer  of  the  Fort  Donelson. 

Dennis,  William  H.,  Assistant,  Coast  Survey. 

Eaton,  Joseph  G,  Midshipman. 

Fuller,  Darius  A.,  Engineer  of  the  luka. 

Francis,  George  E.,  Surgeon  of  tlie  Ouichita. 

Fox,  Gustavus  V.,  Lieutenant;  Assistant  Secretary;  expeditions 
to  Fort  Sumter  and  Russia. 

Garabedian,  Hetchadore  P.,  Engineer  of  the  Geranium. 

Garrigan,  Michael,  Engineer  of  the  Malvern;  bombardments  of 
Fort  Fisher. 

Guild,  Charles  F.,  Ensign;  Secretary  to  Adihiral  Porter;  all  Por- 
ter's engagements  on  the  Mississippi  and  at  Fojt  Fisher: 
now  Paymaster  in  the  regular  Navy. 

Guild,  Charles  M.,  Paymaster  of  the  Shenandoah;  bombardments 
of  Fort  Fisher;  still  in  the  service,  in  the  Asiatic  Squadron. 

Gilmore,  John  I).,  Engineer  of  the  Cherokee. 

Lawrence,  Alvin,  Engineer  of  the  Glaucus. 

*Had  the  attack  ou  Fort  .Johnson,  Sunday  morning,  July  4th,  1864,  been 
directed  by  a  competent  officer,  Charleston  would  have  been  occupied  eiglit 
months  earlier.  Two  regiments  of  infantry  and  two  sections  of  artillery 
were  carried  to  James  Island  in  boats,  which  were  to  have  left  Morris  Island 
at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  were  delayed  till  four  o'clock.  The  delay 
was  fatal.  The  attacking  column  was  repulsed,  and  the  number  killed- 
wounded  or  captured  exceeded  the  entire  garrison  of  the  fort.  Among  tlie 
Naval  officers  accompanying  the  storming  cohunn  was  the  author  of  thi>- 
work,  who  was  there  wounded. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL.  227 


Lp.wrence,  George,  Paymaster  of  the  Pawnee  ;  eiglit  daj's'  bom- 
bardment of  Fort  Pemberton  and  tlic  batteries  on  8tono 
Kiver,  near  Charleston. 

Lawrence,  Geor.i^e  W.,  Engineer  of  the  Malvern, 

Lawson.  Frederick  B.,  Snr<>eon  of  the  Iluntsville. 

Leavitt,  Erasmns  1)..  Jr.,  Eni^ineer  of  the  Sa.iramore ;  capture  of 
Appalachicola ;  bombardments  of  Tampa,  Christabel  River 
Batteries,  and  St.  Andrews. 

Leavitt,  William  A.,  Enijjineer  of  tlie  Nita;  engagement  Mith 
batteries  on  the  Suwannee  Kiver. 

Long,  James,  Ensign. 

MarCiion,  Joseph,  Master  of  the  Hartford;  battle  of  Mobile  Bay; 
still  in  the  service. 

McCracken,  VvMlIiam,  Mate. 

Mason,  William,  Engineer  of  the  Quaker  City. 

Maxfleld,  James  G.,  Apotliecary  of  the  Osceola. 

McDanlels,  Thomas  J.,  Engineer  of  the  Louisiana. 

O'Brien,  James.  Master  of  the  Albatross. 

O'Hare,  John,  Mate;  killed  at  Fort  Fisher. 

Osgood,  George  C,  Surgeon  of  the  Chillicothe. 

Oates,  John  IL,  Mate  of  the  Congress ;  engagement  with  the 
Confederate  ram  Merrimac. 

Racao,  Frederick  W.,  Engineer  of  the  Harvest  Moon;  occupa- 
tion of  Charleston;  blown  up  by  a  torpedo  in  the  Santce. 

Heeustjerna,  Lars  M.,  Engineer  of  the  Aroostook. 

Riley,  James,  Engineer  of  the  Tallahatchie. 

Scribner,  James  E.,  Engineer. 

Slocum,  John  P.,  Engineer. 

Snell,  Alfred  T.,  now  Lieutenant  Commander  of  the  Ticonderoga; 
boml)ardments   of  Sumter,  Wagner  and  Fisher;    battles  of 
Balls' Blutf  and  JNLiyport  Mills;    capture  of  Machias  Point, 
Port  Royal,    Jacksonville  and  Fernandina;    'wrecked  in  the 
Glaucus. 

Vaile,  John  Henry,  Engineer  of  th(;  Lehigh. 

Wilder,  Charles  B.,  Lieutenant;  killed  in  his  boat  by  sliarpshoot- 
ers,  April  IL  18G-t. 

Wright,  Emory,  Paymaster  of  the  11.  R.  Cuyler;  bombardments 
of  Fort  Fisher.* 


*  In  the  absence  of  authentic  data,  I  have  found  it  impossible  to  make 
liiis  record  perfect  or  complete.  Ahnost  every  officer  served  on  several 
different  vessels  in  the  course  of  the  War;  but  the  ship  in  which  his  most 
important  service  was  i-endered  is  the  only  one  heiein  named.  There  were 
several  naval  officers  concerning  whom  I  could  find  no  information  at  all. 

Of  tlie  many  Lowell  sailors  who  lost  their  lives  in  the  Naval  service,  I  have 
only  been  able  to  i-ecover  the  names  of  Harvey  S.  Adams,  James  Brayton, 
Joseph  Cheatham,  Francis  Corey,  (ieor^e  Dei-byshire,  Michael  Dohany, 
Thomas  Faulknei-,  David  Marren,  Jeremiah  McCavty.  Tliomas  McKenna, 
Thomas  Moore,  Georj^e  F.  Parks,  All)ert  Paul,  John  IJoach,  I);ivi(l  B.  Tilton, 
Harrison  A.  Tweed,  John  Driscoll,  John  Chandler  and  Edward  (iarrity. 


228 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


LOWELL  AKMY  OFFICERS. 


THREE    YEARS     MEN. 


Abbott,  Edward  G.,  Capt.  and  Brev. 

Maj.,  A,  2;  killed  at  Cedar  Moun- 
tain, August  9th,  1862. 
Abbott,   Fletcher   M.,  Capt.,   Staff  of 

Gen.  William  Dwight. 
Abbott,  Henry  L.,Maj.  and  Brev.  Brig. 

Gen.,  20;  killed  at  the  Wilderness, 

May  6th,  1804. 
Allen,  Edwin,  1st  Lt.,  78  U.  S.  Col.  I. 
Ames,  John  W.,  Col.,  G  U.  S.  C  T., 

and  Brev.  Brig.  Gen. 
Avling,  Augustus  D.,  1st  Lt.,  D,  29. 
Bailev,  Walter  S.,  Capt.  28. 
Bean^Iames  W.,  1st  Lt.,  7  Batt. 
Blanchard,  C  E.,  Capt,  B,  30:    died 

.lanuary  20,  1864,  aged  58. 
Blood,  Andrew,  Capt.,  H,  26. 
Bonnev,  Seth,  Maj.,  26;  now  1st  Lt. 

27th' U.  S.  Inlan'trv. 
Bovd,  Hugh,  1st  Lt.;^  I,  16. 
Brady,  James  W.,  Capt.,  9  Md. 
Brady,  Allen  G.,  Col.,  and  Brev.  Brig. 

Gen.,  17  Conn. 
Bradley,  William  H.,  Surg.,  7  Batt. 
Bradt,  James  G.,  Surg..  26 ;  died  Jan- 

uarv  22.  1868,  aged  30. 
Burgess,  Charles  \V.,  Capt.,  L  30. 
Burnham,  Walter,  1st  Lt.,  and  Brev. 

Maj.,  Engineers. 
Bush,  Francis,  1st  Lt.,  Q.  M.,  44. 
Bush,  George,  Capt.,  B,  13;  killed  at 

Chancellorsville,  April  30,  1863. 
Bush,  ,J<)se|d),  Capt.,  1  Vt. ;  now  Brev 

]NLij()r22  U.  S.  Intantry. 
Butler,  Beujiimin  F.,  I^Lij.  Gen. 
Caldwell,  -lohn  A.  L.,  1st  Lt.,  4  Cav. 
Carev,  Faten  M.,  2nd  Lt.,  3  Cav. 
Carll",  Alonzo  W.,  Staff,  2  Ind. 
Carney,   George   J.,    Major,    Staff  of 

Gen.  Butler. 
Carnev,  James,  2nd  Lt.,  H,  30. 
Cassiciy,  Patrick  R..  Capt.,  40. 
Cassidv,  Thomas,  D,  28. 
Claffv,'  Thomas,  2nd    Lt.   and  Brev. 

Capt,  G,  19;   killed  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Dec.  13,  18v2,  aged  28. 
Clark,  Charles  F.,  1st  Lt.,  Corps  de 

Afrique. 
Clark,  "Kdwin   R.,  Capt,  B,  30;    now 

2nd  Lt.,  26  L\  S.  L 


Cleaveland,  John  P.,  Chaplain,  30. 
Coburn,  Charles  H.,  1st  Lt.,  1  U.  S. 

Col.  Cav. 
Colton,  Charles  C,  1st  Lt.,  2  Corps  de 

Afrique. 
Comerlbrd,  John  A.,  Maj.,  3  Cav. 
Condon,  John  P.,  Capt.,"  19. 
Cooke,  Homer  A-,  Assist.  Q.  M. 
Critchett,  George  F.,  Capt.,   7   Batt; 

died,  October  30,  1863. 
Croft,  Frederick,  2nd  Lt.,  B,  19. 
Crosbv,  William  D.,  Copt.,  21. 
1  row  fey,  Patrick  E.,  1st  Lt.,  20. 
Crowlev,    i'imothv  A.,  Capt.,   F,  30; 

died  at  New  Orleans,  Oct.  5,  1862. 
Crowlev.  Timothv  B.,  Capt.,  and  Brev. 

Maj.;  B,  10  N.^H. 
Currier,  Charles  M.,  1st  Lt.,  4  N.  H. 
Curry,  Patrick,  2nd  Lt..  3  Cav. 
Dana,  J.  J.,  Brev    Brig.  Gen. 
Dantorth,  Henry,  Capt.,  40 
Dame,  Lorin  L.,  Lt.,  15  Batt. 
Darracott,  -lames  K.,  1st  Lt.,  E,  16; 

killed  at  Manassas,  August  29, 1862. 
Davis,  George  E.,  Adj  ,  26. 
Davis,  Phineas  A.,  Capt.,  7  Batt.,  and 

Asst.  Adj.  Gen.,  Staff  of  Gen.  K.  S. 

Foster. 
Deming,  John  F,  Adjutant,  109  Penn. 
Devoll,  Andrew  J.,  2nd  Lt.,  7  Batt; 

dismissed. 
Dickerman,  George  INL,  Capt.,  A,  26. 
Dickerman,  OrlaiKio  W.,  1st  Lt.,  A,  26. 
Donovan.  .Matthew,  Maj.,  D,  16. 
Donahoe,  Joseph  J.,  Adj.,  10  N.  H. 
Doiiahoe,  Michael  T.,  Brig.  Gen. 
Dudley,  -lohn  G.,  Capt.,  30. 
Eastman,  Ezekiel  W.,  1st  Lt.,  H,  26. 
Kavrs,  ('liarles  G.  A.,  Surg.,  17. 
Klfiott,  Richard  A..  Capt. ,2  La. 
Emerson,  Charles  F.,  2nd  Lt.,  20 
Emersftn,    Moses   C.,    Lt.,    Corps   de 

Africpie. 
Enghind,  Thomas.  1st  Lt.,  30 
Farr,  Alpha  B.,  Col.,  26. 
Farr,  Asa  \V.,  Judge-Advocate,  Staff 

of  Gen.  Blunt;  killed  by  guerrillas, 

Oct.  6,  1863. 
Farrar,  William  E.,  1st  Lt.,  7  Batt. 
Farson,  James,  Capt.,  B,  30. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


229 


Ferris,  Eugene  W.,  Capt.,  D,  30. 
Ferris,  Marsh  A.,  Capt.,  1),  30. 
Field,  David  C.  G.,  1st  Lt ,  Gen.  But- 
ler's Stair. 
Field,  Geortre  \V.,  Capt.,  59. 
Fifield,  William  A.,  1st  Lt.,  59. 
Fish,  Obed  M.,  Capt.,  2  Art. 
Fiske,  Edward  A.,  Rlaj.,  30. 
Fiske,  William  O.,  Brev.  Brig.  Gen. 
Follansbee,  George,  Capt.,  1  H.  A. 
Foster,   Enoch    1st  Lt.,   A,   6;    died 

July  21,  18G3. 
Foster,  John  D.,  1st  Lt.,  C,  30. 
Fox,  Lorenzo  S.,  Asst.  Surg.,  26. 
Francis,  George  E.,  Asst.  Surg. 
Francis,  James,  Lt.  Col.,  2,  and  Div. 

Inspector,  Staff  of  Gen.  Williams. 
Frost,  Benjamin  W.,  Capt.,  H,  26 
Fuller,  Henrv  A.,  2nd  Lt.,  F,  30. 
Fuller,  Lucius  0..  2nd  Lt.,  F,  26. 
Gage,  Daniel  P.,  Asst.  Surg  ,  33. 
Gelra}'-,   Joseph,  Col.,  57,   and   Brev. 

Brig.  Gen. 
George,  Albert,  1st  Lt.,  14  Batt. 
George,  John  F.,  Capt.,  G,  2. 
George,  Paul    R.,  Assistant  Quarter- 
master;   rejected    bv   the    Senate; 

died  Feb.  29,  1804,  aged  56. 
Gilman,  John  H.,  Asst.  Surg.,  10. 
Greenwood,  Frank  W.,  Capt  ,  La. 
Grimes,   David   E.,   Capt.,   46;    died 

Oct.  30,  3865,  aged  39. 
Grush,  Joseph  S.,  2nd  Lt.,  15  Batt. 
Haggerty,   Peter,   Major  and  Assis't 

Adj.    Gen.,   Staff  of  Gen.   Butler; 

died  at  New  Orleans,  July  8,  3866, 

aged  36. 
Hail,  James,   Lt ,  N.  Y.;   killed  in 

battle. 
Hull,  Winthrop  TL,  Adj.,  23  Me. 
Harwood,  John,  Asst.  Surg.,  10  N.  H; 

died  March  16,  1863. 
Hastings,  Charles,  2nd  Lt.,  2. 
Hayward,  Asa  E.,  1st  Lt.,  21;   killed 

at  Petersburg,  July  30,  1864. 
Hill,  James  E. 
Hill,  John  B.,  1st  Lt.,  17. 
Hinckley,  Wallace,  Adj.,  2  H.  Art.; 

died  at  Beaufort,  Sept.  4,  '65,  ag.  2L 
Hixon,  Lloyd  W.,  Asst.  Surg,  13. 
Homer,  Charles  \V.,  Chaplain,  16. 
Hopkins,   Charles  S.,  Assist.  Q.  M., 
Hopkins,  James   A.,  Capt.,  17  U.  S. 

Infantry. 
Howe,  Pliny  R.,  2nd  Lt.,  H,  26. 
Howe,  H.  Warren,  Capt.,  30. 
Hubbard,  William  E.,  Lt.,  8  N.  H. 

20 


Huntington,  James  F.,  Capt.,  15  Ohio 

Batt. 
Hutchinson,  Edward  J.,  Capt.,  48  N. 

Y.;  died  July  3,  1865,  aged  36. 
Johnson,  Andrew  J.,  1st  Lt.,  A,  26. 
Johnston,  Brent,  Jr.,  Major,  F,  30. 
Johnston,  Thomas  B.,  Capt.,  B,  30. 
Jones,  (Jharles  E  ,  Capt.,  33. 
Kelsey,  Jeremiah,  A,  2. 
Kelley,  Thomas,  1st  Lt.,  30. 
Kelty,  Eugene,  Capt.,  I,  30. 
Knapp,  Charles  M.,  Q.  M.,  C   T. 
Ladd,  Jonathan,  Paym'r;  dismissed. 
Lamson,  Henry  P.,  Lt  ,  F,  30. 
Lamson,  William  H.,  Major,  33;  died 

June  25,  1865,  aged  35. 
Lawrence,  George  P.,  Paymaster. 
Lawson,  Henry  T.,  Major,  2  H.  A. ; 

died  Oct.  1,  1864,  at  Newbern. 
Lawson,  John,  Capt.,  2  Art. 
Leach,  Ivory,  2nd  Lt.,  2  Sharp  Shoot. 
Leighton,  Walter  H.,  Asst.  Surg.,  188 

Penn. 
Lord,  Charles  P  ,  1st  Lt.,  F,  8  Me. 
Louger,  William  F.,  1st  Lt.,  C,  2  Art. 
Loverin,  William  F.,  1st  Lt.,  C,  30. 
Lundy,    Francis   H.,    1st   Lt.,   K,  2; 

served  in  the  British  Army,  in  the 

Crimea. 
Madden,  James,  Captain,  10  N.  H. ; 

killed  at  Petersburg,  June  3, 1864. 
Magee,  D.  A.,  Capt.,  2  Cav. 
Maguire,  Michael  T,  H.,  1st  Lt.,   10 

N.  H. 
Mansfield,  Francis,  Chaplain,  N.  Y. 
Marsh,  Salem  S.,  Capt.,  2  U.  S.  In- 
fantry;  killed  at  Chaucellorsville, 

Mav'l,  1863. 
Marston,  William  W.,  Capt.,  12  La. 
Maxfield,  Jared  P.,  2nd  Lt.,  3  Cav. 
McAlpine,  Thomas  D.,  1st  Lt.,  V.  R.  C. 
McAlpine,  William  T.,  1st  Lt.,  C,  2. 
McAnulty,  Peter.  1st  Lt.,  G,  19. 
McClaffertv,  Matthew  J.,  Maj. 
McCurdy,  William  G.,  lat  Lt  ,  7  Batt. 
McGee,  James,  Major,  3  Cav. 
McLaughlin,  James,  2nd  Lt.,  ION  H. 
McQuade,  Frank,  Major.  11. 
Mead,  Samuel  H.,  Lt.,  69;  died  July 

26,  1864. 
Merserve,  Henry,  2nd  Lt.,  33. 
Miles,  William  H.,  1st  Lt,  2. 
Minassian,  Simon  G.,  Asst.  Surg. 
Mitchell,  John,  11  U.  S.  Infantry. 
Morrill,  Edmund  D.,  2nd  Lt.,  15  Batt. 
Mower,   Joseph  A.,   Col.   and  Brev. 

Maj.  Gen. 


230 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


Mumford,  Dudley  C  ,  G,  19 ;  killed  at 

Cold  Harbor,  May  31,  1864. 
Munsey,  Alfred  T.,'Capt.,  1  La. 
Murkland,  John,  Capt.,  B,  15;  killed 

at  Gettysburg,  July  3,  1803. 
Murphy,  Daniel  J.,  2nd  Lt.,  I,  19. 
Needham,  Herbert  A.,  2nd  Lt.,  H,  33. 
Norcross,  Frederick  M,,  Asst.  Q.  M. 
Norcross,    Nicholas    W.,    Paymaster, 
Noyes,  Edward  J.,  Maj.,  1  Tex.  Cay. 
O'Hare,  Thomas,  Capt.,  G,  16. 
Paine,  Patrick,  2nd  Lt..  10  N.  H. 
Parker,  John  M.  G.,  Q.M.,  30. 
Parsons,  Benjamin  VV.,  1st  Lt.,  3  Cay. 
Peabody,  Baldwin  T.,  1st  Lt.,  G,  33. 
Pearson,  Timothy,  Capt.,  15  Batt. 
Pendergast,  Richard,  1st  Lt.,  B,  2. 
Perkins,  Solon  A.,  1st  Lt.  and  Brey 

Maj.,  3Cayalry;  killed  at  Clinton, 

June  3,  1863. 
Philbrick,  Caleb,  Capt.,  G,  33. 
Pickering,  George  A,,  1st  Lt.,  33. 
Pinder,  Albert,  1st  Lt,  59. 
Poor,  Charles  E.,  1st  Lt.,  38  Col.  U.  S. 
Prescott,  D.  Moody,  Capt.,  F,  33. 
Prescott,  Frank  O'.,  1st  Lieut.,  F,  33. 
Proctor,  Patrick  S.,Capt.,  D,  16;  died 

March  1,  1867. 
Pulcifer,  Alfred  H.,'Capt.,  2  H.  A.       . 
Pulcifer,  John  C,  2nd  Lt.,  2  Art. 
Reed,  George  E.,  2nd  Lt.,  C,  30. 
Reed,  Nathaniel  K.,  1st  Lt.,.  30. 
Reed,  Phillip,  2nd  Lt.,  U.  S.  A. 
Richards,  William  H.  H.,  1st  Lt.,  30. 
Ricker,  William  G.  A.,  1st  Lt.,  Col. 

Cay. 
Richardson,  Charles  H.,  2nd  Lt.,  26. 
Robinson,  Charles  S.,  2  Lt.,  7  Batt. 
Robinson,  J.  A.  A.,  2nd  Lt.,  1  Col.  U. 

S.  Infantry. 
Roby,  George  W.,  1st  Lt.,  B.  22. 
Roche,  Dayid  W.,  Capt.,  K,16;  killed 

at  Gettysburg,  July  3,  1863. 
Roche,  Maurice,  1st  Lt.,  H.  A.;   died 

April  2,  1864. 
Rose,  George  W.,  2nd  Lt.,  A,  33. 
Rowe,  John,  Capt.,  E,  16;   died  June 

24,  1864,  in  Libby  Prison. 


Rowse,  Albert,  1st  Lt,  15  Batt. 
Russell,  Daniel  W.,Capt.,  B,  10  N.  H. ; 

killed  at  Cold  Harbor. 
Russell,  Daniel,  Lt.,  N.  Y.;   died  in 

the  service. 
Sanborn,  E.  K.,  Surgeon,  31;  died  at 

at  Ship  Island,  April  3,  1863. 
Sawtell,  Josiah  A.,  Lt.  Col.,  26. 
Skinner,  Theodore  H.,  1st  Lt. 


Shaw,  Daniel  W.,  1st  Lt.,.26. 
Shiplej',  Samuel  D.,  Lt.  Col.,  30. 
Short,  Richard  H.,  1st  Lt.,  10  N.  H. 
Sladen,  Joseph  A.,  1st  Lt.,  and  Brey. 

Capt.,  2(i  U.  S.  A. 
Smith,  Weaker  N.,  Capt,  B,  11. 
Snow,  William  H.,  Adj.,  2  Art 
Sperrj',  H,  Austin,  Capt.,  30. 
Sperry,  Charles,  1st  Lt. 
Steyens,  George  W.,  Adjutant,  23  O. 
Storer,  Newman  W.,  Capt.,  7  Batt 
Sulliyan,  Francis,  1st  Lt.,  15  N.  Y. 
Thompson,  James  B.,  2nd  Lt,  G,  16. 
Thompson,  Joseph  P.,  1st  Lt  ,  G,  33. 
Tierney,  Peter,  2nd  Lt.,  30. 
Tiiton,  Warren  W.,  2nd  Lt,  19. 
Vaile,  Edward,  1st  Lt,  30. 
Vance,  William  G.,  Lt.,  V.  R.  C. 
Varnum,  John,  Capt.,  U.  S.  C.  T. 
Warren,  Benjamin,  Capt.,  D,  26. 
Warren,  Thomas  A.,  1st  Lt.,  F,  30. 
Waugh.  Archibald,  1st  Lt,  A,  33. 
Webster,  Peter  L.,  2,  H.  A. 
Webster,  William  P.,  Proyost  Judge, 

Eastern  Virginia. 
Weymouth,  Harrison  G.  0.,  Maj., U.S. 

Southern  Volunteers. 
Wheldon,  Charies  M.,  Lt  Col.,  C.  T. 
Whiting,  Joseph  B.,  2ud  Lt.,  D,  26. 
Wiley,  VV^illiam  L,  Capt,  Col.  La. 
Willey,  William  H.,  2nd  Lt.,  A,  26. 
Williams,  Charles  H.,  2nd  Lt  ,  7  Batt. 
Williamson,  Dayid  H.,  Adj.,  11. 
Winn,  George  B.,  Capt.,  3  La.  Col. 
Yeaton,  Reuben  P\,  Capt.,  1  I>a.  Cay. 
Young,  William,  2nd  Lt.,  B,  11. 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


231 


LOWELL  SOLDIERS  WHO  DIED  IN  SERVICE  DURING 
THE  REBELLION.- 


"  On  Fame's  eternal  camping  ground 
Their  silent  touts  are  spread ; 
Ami  Glory  guards  with  solemn  round 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead." 


Abbott,  Samuel  D.,  1  Sharpshooters 

Adams,  Charles  A.,  Sergt.,  F,  ;i;3 

Allen,  George  S.,  1  Sharpshooters 

Ansart,  Atis  E.,  I,  16 

Auld,  James  T.,  12  Batt 

Austin,  Seth  J.,  A,  33 

Babcock,  Alonzo  J.,  Sergt.,  H,  2 

Bad-er,  Willard  F.,  F,  33 

B:iker,  Daniel  W.,  G,  3  N  H 

Baker,  S.  C,  Sergt.,  A,  10  N  Y 

Baldwin,  Clark  G.,  C,  30 

Ball,  Henry  C,  A,  2 

Barry,  Edward,  G,  20 

Barry,  John,  D,  1(3 

Barrett,  John,  H,  30 

Bartlett,  Ebenezer  H.,  7  Batt 

Bartlett,  Reuben  A.,  7  Batt 

Bascom,  Wallace,  A,  2 

Bassett,  Joseph  C,  Sergt.,  A,  2 

Bean,  Lvman  W.,  1  N  H  Batt 

Be;in,  \Villiaui  II.,  B,  lii 

Jiicktbrd,  Charles  IL,  B,  2 

Bickford,  William  II.,  Sergt.,  D,  2; 

Blessington.  Bernard,  C,  1 

Blessington,  Hugh,  B,  30 

Blodgett,  John  F.,  C,  30 

Bohonan,  (ieorge  W.,  Corp.,  F,  33 

Bowden,  Ernest,  G,  33 

Bowles,  Ira,  H,  (i 

Br;ultbrd,  William,  B,  11 

Bradt,  Charles  A.,  C,  44 

Broen,  Thomas,  K,  32 

Briggs,  John,  Jr.,  A,  2 

Bright,  Henry  C,  A,  2 

Brown,  Frederick  H.,  C,  2 

Brown,  John,  7  Batt 

Brown,  Robert,  7  Batt 

Brown,  Joseph  M..  30 

BuUard,  William  T.,  A,  2 

Bumpus,  B.  F.,  A,  2 

Bumpus,  Ephraim,  C,  2 

Burbank,  Augustus  F.,  Sergt.,  B,  30 

Burbank,  George  W.,  5  U  S  Cav 


Burns,  Frank,  B,  40 
Burns,  John  A.,  Corp.,  F,  30 
Burns,  John,  I,  1  H  A 
Burns,  Thomas,  I,  10 
Bush,  James  M.,  2  N.  H. 
ButterJield,  Frank  S.,  D,  26 
Butterworth,  John,  Ellsworth's  Zou- 
aves. 
Buxton,  George  W.,  Corp.,  A,  2 
Cadwell,  Charles  D.,  7  Batt 
Cain,  George  W.,  Corp.,  B,  19 
Caldwell,  Charles,  G,  16 
Carues,  Thomas,  1,  32 
Carpenter,  Henrv  A.,  1  Batt 
Carroll.  Peter,  K,  48 
Carroll,  Maitin,  G,  30 
Cassid.y,  Francis,  G,  10 
Cauliie'ld,  Alfred  J.,  7  Batt 
Chase,  Volney  P.,  A,  19 
Chase,  Wilson,  7  Batt 
Cheever,  William  B.,  A,  30 
Chri.stie,  Robert,  B,  2 
Cobb,  Andrew  J.,  D,  33 
Connor,  Timothy,  G,  33 
Connoi',  James,  D,  2  H  A 
Coonerv,  John,  I,  9  Conn 
Clark,  Francis  W..  D,  26 
Clark.  Henry  A.,  C,  24. 
Cleaveland,  Harmon,  7  Batt 
Clements,  Abraham,  B,  11 
Clink,  Richard  W.,  Corp..  B,  11 
Co.ddin,  Jofm,  B,  30 
Cole,  Albert  G.,  H,  5 
Cole,  David  W.,  H,  30 
Collins,  Timothy,  B,  19 
Comerford,  William  H.,  A,  26 
Coiiahy,  James,  142  N  Y 
(-onlan,  James,  G,  32 
Conlau,  Jolni,  G,  32 
Conley,  James  E.,  2  H  Art 
Cook,"B;irnabas,  B,  26 
Cook,  William  P.,  F,  33 
Cooper,  George,  K,  45 


*This  list  gives  the  surname  and  Christian  name  of  the  soldier,  the  letter 
of  his  company,  and  the  number  of  his  regiment  or  battery.  When  not  other 
wise  designated,  the  organizations  belonged  to  Massachusetts. 


232 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


Costello,  Michael,  G,  3  Cav 

Coughliu,  James,  1st  Sergt.,  D,  16 

Cox,  Philip,  B,  30 

Coy,  Eliab  W.,  K,  2  H  A 

Craig,  Harrison  J.,  7  Batt 

Craue,  Patrick 

Creamer,  Matthew,  I,  3  U  S  I 

Crehore,  Charles  W.,  A,  30 

Crosby,  Frederick  A.,  Corp.,  C,  30 

Cross,  IraM.,  G,  16 

Cross,  William  B.,  A,  6  Mass. 

Crowley,  Bartholomew,  G,  19 

Cuuuiugham,  John,  H,  48 

Curley,  Michael,  15  Batt 

Curry,  Peter,  D,  16 

Ciisty,  Michael,  I,  16 

Cutts,  Charles  A.,  D,  6 

Daggett,  Andrew  J.,  A,  2 

Daly,  William,  7  Batt 

Davenport,  Elijah,  7  Batt 

Davis,  (instavus  J  ,  G,  30 

Dean,  Cameron,  H,  26 

Dearden,  John,  A,  30 

Deary,  Patrick,  B,  11 

Deering,  William,  B,  2 

Dempsey,  Christopher  E.,  Corp.,  G,  32 

Dempsev,  John,  I,  16 

Devlin,  Michael,  B,  30 

Dohany,  Patrick,  E,  26 

Dolanary,  John,  F,  30 

Doiiahoe,  Cornelius,  G,  16 

Donovan,  John,  A,  30 

Drach,  Emil,  K,  31 

Dresser,  Charles,  2 

Dnfly,  John,  7  Batt 

Duffy,  Thomas,  6  Batt 

Duncan,  John  H.,  F,  8  Maine 

Durgin,  Charles  P.,  G,  8  N  H 

Durgin,  Leavitt  C,  Sergt.,  A,  2 

Dustin,  Eben  S.,  A,  2 

Dyai-,  LiOoman  H.,  A,  2 

Eacott,  Henry,  G,  ii) 

Eastman,  Albert  D.,  2 

Eastman,  Daniel  E,  C,  30 

Edds,  John  11.,  B  or  E,  30 

Enright,  James,  48 

Ewan,  Thomas   K,  48 

Ewing,  Samuel,  F,  33 

Ewing,  William,  H,  30 

Farnsworth,  David  W.,  C,  30 

Farrell,  Richard,  F,  13  U.  S.  Infantry 

Fin  ton,  Peter,  I,  y  Conn 

Finnegan,  William,  A,  11 

Fisher,  George  W.,  B,  30 

Fisher,  Thomas,  D,  59 

Fiske,  John  L.,  7  Batt 

Fiske,  John  S.,  13 

Fleming,  James,  A,  2 

Flood,  Thomas,  D,  16 

Ford,  Robert  H.,  A,  26 

Foss,  John  C,  E,  2 

Foster,  Henry  C,  Sergt.,  A,  26 

Foster,  James  L,.,  A,  2 

Foster,  Silas  P.,  A,  2 

Foster  Willard,  A,  2 

Fox,  George  I.,  C,  6 

Frawley,  John,  G,  33 


Freeman,  Isaac  S.  D.,  F,  16 
Frost,  John,  D,  30 
Gale,  John  A.,  33  U.  S.  Infantry 
Gallagher,  Edward,  H,  48 
Gallagher,  James,  G,  3  Cav 
Gallagher,  John,  D,  16 
Galvin,  John,  G,  16 
Gannon,  Thomas,  B,  1  Cav 
Garland,  Owen,  E,  9 
Gardner,  George,  Jr.,  D,  6 
Garrity,  Hngh  J.,  I,  16 
Gates,  Horatio  N.,  Corp.,  G,  16 
Gav,  Edward,  F,  13  U.  S.  Infantry 
Gillon,  Hugh,  B,  11 
Gilman,  Aaron  AV.,  15  Batt 
Gilman,  Newall  G.,  A,  2 
Gilmore,  Isaac  E.,  A,  26 
Gilsou,  Albert,  B,  2 
Gilson,  John,  B,  26 
Gilson,  Warren  W.,  C,  30 
Gilpatrick,  John,  A,  26 
Golden,  Barney,  G,  33 
Golden,  Dennis,  F,  26 
Golden,  Owen,  B,  30 
Goodhue,  David  H.,  C,  6 
Goodhue,  John,  A,  26 
Goodwin,  Alonzo,  G,  16 
Goodwin,  Thomas  J.,  A,  26 
Gordon.  John,  2 
Gonlding,  Owen,  D,  16 
Granville,  John,  G,  3  Cav 
Gray,  Timothy,  A,  2 
Gray,  James,  I.  41 
Gra'v,  James,  A,  3  Cav 
Greelev,  John  E.,  B,  11 
Greenleaf,  Ruel  W.,  Corp.,  C,  30 
Griffin,  Patrick,  6  Batt 
Hall,  James  N.,N  Y 
Hnll,  Jeremiah  S.,  Corp.,  A,  2 
Halleran,  Michael,  H,  26 
Hamblett,  Alpheus,  A,  30 
Hamilton  Edward,  F,  13  U.  S.  Infan- 
try. 
Handly,  Frank,  E,  26 
Harmon,  Elbi-idge,  2 
Harriman,  Alonzo  D.,  B,  30 
Harriman,  Charles  L.,  A,  33 
Harriman,  John,  G,  16 
Harrington,  Daniel,  D,  59 
Harrington,  Daniel,  H,  1  U  S  Art 
Haselton,  Henry  T.,  A,  2 
Haskell,  Charles  W.,  7  Batt 
Hassett,  Martin,  B,  30 
Haves,  Patrick,  1  N  Y  Chasseurs 
Heald,  Joel  M.,  C,  30 
Heath,  Martin  V.  B.,  C,  30 
Herrick,  Andrew  J.,  A,  6 
Heslan,  Bernard,  F,  30 
Hibbard,  Thaddeus  A.,  A,  2 
Hilton,  Moses  M.,  G,  6 
Hodge,  John  A.,  G,  59 
Hoffron,  Michael,  I,  59 
Hollihan,  Patrick,  2  Cav 
Holmes,  Silas  S.,  Sergt.,  L,  1  Car 
Honeybun,  Thomas,  6  Batt 
Hopkmson,  Francis,  44 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


233 


Horn,  Chai-les  C,  A,  26 

Hosmer.  Edwin,  59 

Hosmer,  Nathan  D.,  I,  30 

Howard,  Edwin  F.,  K,  31 

Howard,  James,  A,  20 

Howe,  Oi-iu  S.,  G,  IG 

Hove,  Patrick,  A,  2 

Hudson,  John  P.,  7  Batt 

Hudson,  Jonas  F.,  D,  2(5 

Hughes,  John,  Sergt.,  I,  16 

Huntington,  John  P.,  7  Batt 

Huntington,  John  H.,  A,  26 

Hurd,  Franli  G.,  Sergt.,  G,  20 

Hurlev,  James  J.,  ]i,  17 

Hutcli'ius,  p]verett  E.,  F,  33 

Hutching,  Warren  E.,  7  Batt 

Jacobs,  Andrew  G.,  G,  19 

James,  Edwin  S.,  A,  33 

Jefl'ers,  Matthew  D.,  G,  3  Cav 

Jones,  Charles  H.,  G,  16 

Jones,  Edward,  Corp.,  G,  16 

Jordan,  Jolm,  H,  26 

Judge,  James,  F,  33 

Kain,  Edward,  D,  16 

Ivanna,  Jolm,  G,  16 

Kavauagh,  James  A.,  G,  16 

Keariis,  Peter,  G,  33 

Keanis,  Patrick,  F,  30 

Keele,  John,  G,  28 

Keeuan,  Johti  G.,  11  U  S  Infantry 

Keith,  John  H.,  C,  6 

Keliev,  Hiram,  A,  26 

Kelley,  Michael,  B,  30 

Kelley,  Thomas,  K,  15 

Kempton,  Frank  J.,  D,  26 

Kempton,  Grin,  Jr.,  D,  26 

Kennedy,  John,  Sergt.,  I,  16 

KenneyJ  Charles,  Corp.,  15  Batt 

KenneV,  John,  Jr.,  Corp.,  G,  3  Car 

Kerrigan,  Phillip,  E,  11  U  S  I 

Keyes,  Patrick,  51  N  Y 

Kirk,  .James,  G,  30 

Kittredge,  Charles  E.,  I,  2 

Kittredge,  George  H.,  U  S  Cav 

Knajtp,  Freeman,  Corp.,  F,  33 

Ladd,  Luther  C,  D,  6 

Lahift',  Michael,  I,  16 

Lahifi;  Timothy,  If,  18 

LaMountaiu,  George  A.,  A,  11  U  S 

Infantry 
Lamphear,  George  B.,  B,  30 
Lane,  Joseph  IL,  Musician,  G,  33 
Lapont,  Edwin,  II,  11 
Leeman,  William  A.,  F,  7  Conn 
Legro,  Herman  A.,  D,  6 
Linskj-,  Dennis,  E,  28 
Livingston,  Nelson  S.,  A,  2 
Lockiing,  l^eonard  A.,  F,  33 
Lockling,  Joel  M.,  E,  1  Cav 
Lone,  Francis,  W.,  I,  30 
Longer,  John,  F,  33 
Loughran,  Bernard,  3  Cav. 
Loverin,  Luke  W.,  D,  6 
Lynch,  William,  B,  11 
Maguire,  Edward,  N  H 
Mahan,  Michael,  H,  30 
Mahoney,  Frank,  C,  9 


Malone,  Jolin,  E,  4  N  H 
Manchester,  Uelos  W.,  H,  20 
^Manning,  John,  B,  2 
Manuel,  William  L.  G.,  F,  54 
Mansur,  James  M.,  Coii^.,  G,  33 
Marhle,  Charles  H.,  A,  26 
INIarden,  James  P.  P.,  2  Cav 
Martin,  James,  B,  30 
Martin,  Michael,  G,  16 
Martin,  Thomas,  15  Batt 
Maskell,  Henry  IL,  H,  26 
Mathews,  Oren  E.,  7  Batt 
Maxwell,  Charles  L.,  K,  12 
Maxwell,  Thomas,  G,  30 
Mavnard,  Beriah,  F,  5  Vt 
Mavnard,  Dennis,  96  N  Y 
McAllister,  Samuel,  G,  16 
McAnulty,  Thomas,  G,  33 
McCabe,'john  T.,  D,  30 
McCabe,  Hugh,  G,  30 
McCahey,  Thomas,  Scott's  900  Cav 
McCanna,  John,  B,  30 
McCarthy,  Jeremiah,  F,  30 
McCartv,  John,  B,  30 
McCormick,  Nathaniel,  B,  63  N  Y 
McCorry,  Peter,  G,  31 
McCrea,  Terrence,  D,  9 
]\[cCutcheon,  William,  C,  30 
McDermott,  Owen,  M,  1  H  A 
McDonald,  Edward,  G,  30 
McDonald,  Hugh,  7  Batt 
McDonald,  James,  15  Batt 
McElliott,  Michael,  64  111 
McEvoy,  Joseph,  Coi'p.,  1, 10 
McGinlev,  John,  G,  16 
McGoon^  John  B.,  A,  33 
McGuire,  Hugh,  F,  30 
McKenzie,  Angus  C,  Coi-p.,  F,  33 
McKernan,  John,  B,  30 
McKinlev,  Robert,  H,  30 
McKissock,  Bobert,  Jr.,  4  N  H 
McLaughlin,  Edward 
McLaughlin,  William,  A,  1  H  Art 
McMahon,  Patrick,  D,  16 
McManus,  John,  F,  30 
McMorrow,  John,  G,  19 
McNabb,  John,  B,  30 
McNamara,  Peter,  F,  9 
McNultv,  Neal,  H,  30 
McNultv,  Thomas,  G,  33 
McQuaid,  Thomas,  G,  16 
Mercer,  James  P.,  A,  32 
Merrill,  Benjamin,  F,  33 
Miles,  Newell  W.,  D,  11  U  S  I 
INIilnor  Thomas  R.,  39 
jMitchell,  James  F,  11  U  S  Infantry 
Molloy,  Pat,  A,  11 
Monalian,  James,  D,  16 
aiontague,  Thomas,  D,  16 
Moodv,  Edwin  A.,  Corp.,  C, 
Moore,  Ira  ^V.,  Serg.,  B,  30  24 
Moran,  Hugh  D.,  16 
Moran,  James,  E,  30 
Moran,  John,  F,  30 
Morgan,  Henrv,  7  Batt 
Mulcahy,  William,  G,  16 
Mullen,  James,  B,  30 


234 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL 


Mullen,  Michael  J.,  A,  30 
Mulligan,  Charles,  Serg.,  G,  3  Cav 
Murphy,  Dennis,  3  U  S  Art, 
Murphy,  John,  A,  11  U  S  I  " 
Murtagh,  James,  F,  30 
Murtle,  John,  L,  1  H  A 
iSason,  Royal  T.,  A,  26 
Nelson,  Andrew,  A,  2 
Nelson,  Robert,  G,  16 
Nelson,  Samuel,  G,  16 
Newman,  Charles  H.,  C,  2 
Noonan,  Michael,  E,  26 
NoiTis,  William,  C,  3  Vt 
Norton,  Bradford  S.,  Sergt.,  A,  26 
Nudd,  John  H.,  H,  4  N  H 
Nutter,  Luther  P.,  A,  2 
Oakes,  James,  B,  2 
Oates,  Andrew,  ¥,  30 
O'Brien,  James,  I,  26 
O'Brien,  John  J.,  B,  29 
O'Connell,  James,  G,  19 
O'Connors,  Timothy,  V  R  C 
O'Grady,  Michael,  i\  19 
O'Grady,  Thomas,  G,  16 
O'Donnell,  John,  D,  14  U  S  I 
O'Hare,  Charles  M.,  1st  Serg.,  G,  16 
O'Neil,  Dennis,  F,  30 
O'Neil,  John,  G,  16 
Ordwav,  John  H.,  D,  11  N  H 
O'Keiley,  Patrick,  A,  30 
O'Rourke,  Patrick,  H,  30     . 
Page,  Lorenzo  F.,  D,  26 
Page,  Lucius,  Corp.,  A,  2 
Page,  Rinaldo,  7  Batt 
Paine,  William  W.,  Serg.,  G,  33 
Palmer,  William,  F.,  C,  2  H  A 
Park,  Orin  R.,  Corp.,  A,  6 
Parmalee,  Alfred  S..  Corp.,  C,  30 
Peabody,  Hiram,  C,  30 
Pearson,  Edwin  P.,  C,  1  H  A 
Penn,  Charles  IL,  Corp.,  E,  11 
Peterson,  William,  48  Pa 
Pettes,  Andrew  J.,  Sergt.,  D,  59 
Phelps,  Elias  A.,  G,  19 
Philbrick,  Charles  W.,  B,  2  N  H 
Pike,  Charles  O.,  B,  30 
Pike,  Dominicus  S.,  E,  30 
Plimpton,  Samuel,  E,  30 
Plumado,  Oliver,  2  Cav 
Pollock,  Thomas  C,  N  Y  S  M 
Poison,  Frank  B.,  D,  17 
Pomfret,  Michael,  B,  30 
Prescott,  Evander  A.,  15  Batt 
Proctor,  Alvin  L.,  G,  16 
Prout.y,  Sidney  S.,  A,  2 
Purcell,  John",  K,  67  N  Y 
Putnam,  Alonzo,  15  Batt 
Quiun,  Patrick,  A,  30 
Rafferty,  John,  B,  2  H  Art 
Ramsey,  Nehemiah  S.,  C,  30 
Randall,  George  P.,  E,  30 
Ray,  Norinan  J.,  A,  33 
Read,  John  H.,  Musician,  C,  16 
Ready,  John  C,  A,  1 
Reed,  George  E.,  C,  30 
Reilly,  Patrick,  K,  1  N  Y 
Reynolds,  John,  A,  26 
Reynolds,  Michael,  H,  26 


Reynolds,  Patrick,  D,  16 

Richardson,  Luther  L.,  A,  26 

Richardson,  Hudson  M.,  7  Batt 

Riley,  Patrick,  G,  56 

Rilev,  Patiick,  K,  69  N  Y 

Ritchie,  Robert,  H,  2  Del 

Rourke,  Dennis,  E,  9 

Rushworth,  John  B.,  F,  33 

Russell,  Albert  M.,  E,  22 

Ryerson,  Horace,  A,  2 

Sanborn,  Levi  C,  C,  2 

Sargent,  Charles  D.,  D,  26 

Sawtell,  Luther,  Jr.,  1, 26 

Sawyer,  Bernard  H.,  A,  26 

Scaiinell,  Ambrose  P.,  I,  1  N  H  Cav 

Scully,  John,  Wagoner,  A,  29 

Scully,  John,  F,  30 

Searles,  Henry  D.,  A,  26 

Shannon,  Charles,  F,  30 

Shaughnessey,  James,  F,  30 

Shaw,  Chase's.,  Sergt.,  A,  26 

Shea,  John,  G,  19 

sheppard,  James  W.,  B,  29 

Sherwell,  Walter,  F,  33 

Short,  William,  A,  10 

Simons,  Timothy,  C,  12 

Sleeper,  (^eorge,  Corp.,  G,  16 

Smith,  Charles  D.,  E,  9 

Smith,  Edward,  I,  30 

Smith,  Henry  L.,  C,  30 

Smith,  John,'D,  59 

Smith,  William  B.,  C,  30 

Smith,  William  F.,  A,  33 

Smith,  Michael,  B,  30 

Smith,  Peter,  E,  30 

Smithson,  George,  A,  9  Vt 

Snell,  David,  D,  26 

Si)alding,  E.O.,  A,  2. 

Snaulding,  (.ieorge  AY.,  7  Batt 

Spaulding,  Oscar  A.,  A,  2 

Stanford,  Fi-eeman  S.,  B,  6  Vt 

Stephens,  Alexander,  B,  2 

Stephens,  John,  B.  2 

Stevens,  Warren  XL,  U  S  Sharpsh'tera 

Stevenson,  Cushman  S.,  B,  2  Cav 

Stewart,  Willi.im,  I,  16 

Siickney,  Henry,  G,  33 

Strong, "Martin  V.  B.,  1  Sharpshooter? 

Sullivan,  Eugene,  B,  30 

Sullivan,  Jeremiah,  4  U  S  Batt 

Sutherland,  George,  C,  30 

Swain,  George  W.,  Corp.,  C,  6 

Tavlor,  John,  Z.,  F,  17 

Tenney,  John.F,  30 

Tetreau,  Jeremiah,  F,  33 

Thissell,  Joseph  W.,  G,  33 

Thomas,  Richard  E.,  Corp.,  A,  26 

Thompson,  Lafayette  F.,  Hospt.  Stew. 

Thompson.  James,  G.,  A,  26 

Thompson;  John,  F,  13  U  S  Infantry 

Thompson,  Richard  A.,  A,  30 

Thomi)son,  William,D,  26 

Thurston,  Anson  G.,  C,  G 

Tighe,  James 

Tighe,  Matthew,  I.  19 

Tighe,  Patrick,  Corp.,  F,  30 

Tilton,  James  G.,  H,  48 


HISTORY    OF    LOWELL. 


285 


Tracy,  Thomas,  K,  20 
Ti-ull,  Zeiias  B.,  2  Sliarpsliooters 
Tally,  James,  M,  1  H  A 
Tye,  Henry,  K,  2 
Uusworth,  Uit'hanl,  2(! 
\Vad«ile,  James,  G,  IG 
Wallace,  John  A.,  B,  2 
\V';!r(l,  Jamc;;  F.,  F,  58 
Webster,  William  M.,B,  80 
Wedf^ewood,  Edwin  S.,  A,  2'o 
Welden.  Tlionias,  D,  16 
Whalan,  I'iiilin,  1),  59 
Wheat,  Josiah  C,  A,  20 
Wheeler,  John  P.,  7  Batt 
Whipple,  Calvm,  1  Batt  H  A 
Whipple,  Woodman,  I),  3  Vt 
Whitcomb,  Valentine,  A,  30 


AVhite,  llarvev,  C,  74  Ohio 
Whifnev,  Add'ison  O.,  D,  G 
Whitnev,  James  M.,  1  H  A 
Wliitten,  Kben  B.,  Ser^t.,  A,  2 
Whiltier,  Ifuel,  Corp.,  B,  2 
Williams,  Anson  W.,  3  Cav 
Wilson,  Joseph  IT.,  A,  2G 
Wilson,  Lafavette,  A,  33 
Winsor,  George  W.,  4  Batt 
Withee  Thompson  H.,  A,  2G 
Woods.  John,  I,  IG 
Woodward,  (ieorcje  E.,  D,  2G 
Worth,  Charles  II.,  B,  2  N  H 
M'rijrht,  Lewis  C,  A,  2 
!  Wriiiht,  Charles  11.,  11  Ohio 
Yonng,  Albert  C,  H,  26 
Young,  James,  F,  30 


COEEECTIONS. 

The  chapter  of  ]\Iauiifacturiiii?  History  was  sent  to  press  be- 
fore J.  H.  Sawyer  had  succeeded  George  Motley  as  Agent  of  the 
Appleton  Company's  Mills-. 

The  chapter  of  Chnrcli  History  was  printed  before  tlie  ordi^ 
nation  of  Rev.  F.  R.  Morse   as  pastor  of  the  Worthen  Street 
Baptist  Church,   and  before  the  author  had  seen  Dorchester's 
History  of  St.  Paul's  Churcli,  which  contains  many  interesting 
details  touching  the  growth  of  Methodism  here. 
On  page  35,  for  "  President,"  read  "a  member." 
•*      "      35,  for  "presided  at,"  read  '•participated  in." 
"      "      89,  for -'Lambert,"  read  "Lambord." 
"      "    124,  for  "A.  B.  Farr,"  read  "Asa  W.  Farr." 
"      "    223,  to  the  necrological  record,  add  "March  3,  Henry 
M.  Hooke,  53,  Physician." 


92  8 


(u